Hollywood conceits come in many forms. In a Denzel Washington/John
Lithgow film called "Ricochet" the idiom of the inner
city is abused by Hollywood in a scene with Washington, as the
good black man who "made it out" and Ice T, as the drug
lord who is still "in." Their exchange is gussied up
"Shaft", with a dash of morality and emphasis on "bru
- tha'". But that's what happens when you let Hollywood
depict your inner city conversation (in fact, the screenwriters
wanted Washington to conclude the film with "You can kiss my
black ass!" but he refused).
Hollywood thinks it has a better handle on suburbia, the vast
wasteland that has spawned so many disgruntled screenwriters. You
would think that this overwhelmingly well-heeled market group
would have a keen insight into the corner of Grove and Maple. It
turns out their grasp is no more firm with strip malls than
"the 'hood."
Which brings me to American Beauty, a false film of suburban
decay. Kevin Spacey has a midlife crisis, though it really isn't
a true midlife crisis, because he is married to Annette Bening,
and she is so cartoonishly gruesome that Spacey's crisis seems
less a subject of introspection than one of survival. Bening
approaches her character as Martha Stewart on methampehtamine (and
that's the joke - get it? - because Martha Stewart is so
insidious). She is absurdist and all the screwed up mentalities
that emanate from her husband and daughter are very ho hum, given
her shrill psychoses. And then there is the tranquilized
housewife neighbor, and the homophbic (or is he?) Marine
neighbor, and the disaffected, let down teens. And the pimp. You
know, the black, shuffling pimp. He's there too.
What is good about the film? A few things. It ends tidy.
Spacey plays decidedly above the material (though, being the only
empathetic character, he is difficult to judge because you beg
for his return during every one of his absences).
But what is bad is really quite awful. The characters are
abused rather than drawn. If you can't see what is coming in most
scenes of emotional turbulence, you have not been watching enough
"Must See TV." The use of Bening as Mothra the Suburban
Scene Eating Hydra not only minimizes most character reaction,
but it is borderline offensive. I was reminded of her husband's
use of urban blacks in "Bulworth" - sure, they got his
character where he needed to be, but at what cost to them?
Similarly, Bening is so demonized and dehumanized - all for the
illumination of Spacey - that you pity her as an actress.
