I saw this on DVD when it first came out (free netflix dealie) and i just saw it again last night on HBO or Showtime. I was wondering what people thoguht of this movie?

There have been a number of discussions about this movie on here in the past. Some people think it was terrific, others think it sucked. I was looking forward to seeing it after all the talk about how twisted it was. Unfortunately I was very disappointed and thought overall that it pretty much sucked. It wasn't because it was offensive or shocking to me. I just didn't find it very interesting. The only storyline that I found interesting was the Father and the boy. The rest were all kind of boring and pointless and really didn't have much to say.

Warm, touching, love story the whole family can enjoy. See it on a Saturday afternoon with the kids or Grandparents.

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The Decline

Just got back from watching it with the grandkids. They loved it. The masturbation, rape scene, and pedophilia; they thought it was hilarious. BTW, was this a Disney production?

Disney will be distributing part 2.

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The Decline

Great, looking forward to the sequel!

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PatCave ;HT Pix ;Pat's DVDs

You could say that American Beauty is the
sanitized/toned down/censored version of Happiness. I still believe Happiness is the superior film.

i did not really think that American Beauty had that much in common with Happiness.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!


i mean, one man likes 16 year old girls. the other likes 11 year old boys. seems pretty different to me. i dont really remember any chubby people that beat off while making obscene phone calls or fat women that kill rapists in American Beauty. any russian taxi drivers in American Beauty? nope. both are dark comedies but other than that, not a whole lot in common at least story wise. i thought both films were good but of course American Beauty is a lot easier to enjoy. i dont seem myself buying Happiness any time soon.

lots of other comments on this movie under "search."

quote:<HR>Originally posted by DaveNinja:
I saw this on DVD when it first came out (free netflix dealie) and i just saw it again last night on HBO or Showtime. I was wondering what people thoguht of this movie?<HR>

If the producers used film editing, the film could have been much better. I would say I liked it, but that would involve saying I liked "ALL" of it. I liked the concept of the movie, but it was far to long and slow.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by eXcentris:
You could say that American Beauty is the
sanitized/toned down/censored version of Happiness. I still believe Happiness is the superior film.<HR>

YIKES. Please don't EVER compare American Beauty to a film of this stature. Sure they both involve love scenes with children. But I very much consider a 16 year old girl very different than a 12 year old boy. Both are wrong, but one at least has some merrit to be alluring.

Happiness and American Beauty do have similar themes. They are both dark comedies about modern suburban life. Personally, I feel Happiness is the better film. But to call American Beauty a "sanitized/toned down/censored" version of Happiness demeans a very good film which I still think American Beauty is. It implies that the similar themes were conscious ones, as if Alan Ball saw Happiness and decided to make a mass market version of it. I realize that I'm only talking semantics here, but I think American Beauty is a more palatable(to audiences) version of Happiness, just as American Psycho is a more palatable version of Fight Club(unnatural response to excessive materialism). The stories may not be identical, but the similar themes are rampant.
For an example, just look at Freekboy's response that a middle-aged man's unhealthy attraction to a 16 year old girl has more "merrit"(sic) than another middle-aged man's attraction to a 12 year old boy.

[This message has been edited by GlennS (edited June 04, 2000).]

Happiness and American Beauty have a lot in
common. Both films deal with subject matter
(homosexuality, adultery, physical abuse)
that films usually avoid and that people
often choose to deny. Happiness just goes
one step further. Sure it's not a film for
everyone and I can understand why some people
might be 'disgusted' by it. It is however a brilliant film and a much needed reality check for those leading a sheltered life who
choose not to acknowledge that such disturbed
and repulsive behavior might be more common place than they think...

Glen,

I enjoyed American Beauty and I did not mean
to demean it. In fact, I believe we are saying exactly the same thing. You just worded it better when you said "more palatable to audiences"

As to freekboy's comment on the so-called
*merrit* of 16 year old girls versus 12 year
old boys, that's a perfect example of a person in denial in need of a reality check.

eXcentris,
Sorry if my response was a bit inflammatory. Often people use this analogy as a reason to bash one film or the other. Thank you for clarifying. So it appears that we're in agreement. My apologies if I exhibited the characteristics of a "flamer."

I never before thought of a connection between happines and american Beauty. They both make you feel sorry for a suburban father who likes younger children. In american beauty he didnt go through with it, like he was only temporarly messed up, but in happiness the father knew he was sick but couldnt do anything against it. They did a good job of showing him go from bad to worse, in the end he wanted to get caught. The american beauty dad was just going through more of a mid life crisis and wanted to be a teenager again. Atleast that how it seems to me now. (i dont know if this all make since or is real obvios or wrong, i just train-of-thought-typing) Dave Ninja