Am I the only one who thinks this movie is overrated?

When it first came out I saw it at the theater and thought it was good film but not to the level of the acclaim it was receiving. But then I kept seeing it on TV and the movie grew on me.

It's not just you:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/american-beauty-legacy-20-years-later_n_5d5c344fe4b0d1e1136902be
https://film.avclub.com/how-american-beauty-lost-the-title-of-1999-s-best-movie-1836795875

The swing from critical darling to whipping boy seems performative. I doubt the sincerity of those who now claim to despise it. It's technically well-made & has some insightful moments. I like that Lester figures things out. Eventually.

But I agree with the OP that it was overrated upon release. The social commentary was always weak. Hollywood is filled with people who fled "Middle America" for the coasts & they often struggle to move past that.

Minor spoiler. It’s one of those movies that stuck with me for many years. I liked its take on the importance of the many memories collected during your life. That is your afterlife. Now that’s all I do :)

Maybe not top ten though. Top 100 for sure.

I agree with you— it’s a good movie but overrated. I didn’t like the ending, which felt forced and out of place, like a gimmick to amp up the drama.

It basically never fails - for every brilliant movie, there's some contrarian out there posting about how it's overrated. Bonus points for the "am I the only one?" phrase.

Starts out well.

Goes wrong the last half hour.

way overrated.

I kinda hate-love the movie. I understand where the criticism comes from (the characters ARE cliches) and yet, I still enjoy watching it.