American Beauty Movie Facts, Easter Eggs and hidden details
14 of the most interesting American Beauty easter eggs you didn't know about. Handpicked and verified, these little-known hidden details can be obscure enough most people will miss. These behind the scene easter eggs and hidden messages will give you another view of American Beauty movie message.
A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
Genre
Drama
Director
Sam Mendes
Stars
Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley
IMDB score
8.3
American Beauty Movie Trivia
Lester (Kevin Spacey) is constantly framed behind objects which appear to resemble jail cells, representing his own feelings of "imprisonment" within his bougie middle-class bubble.
The name Angela "Hayes" comes from Lo "Haze" in Nabokov's Lolita.
Lester mentions he is missing the TNT James Bond Marathon. The director of American Beauty, Sam Mendes, ended up directing two James Bond movies, Skyfall and Spectre.
American Beauty movie hidden details
Deadpool makes fun of Kevin Spacey before the news broke. Wade accuses the Weapon X Recruiter of being a creep who lures children into his van. The recruiter has the exact same phone number as Lester Burnham -- Spacey's character from American Beauty. He also looks a bit like Spacey.
Lesters computer screen at work resembles his life and the feeling of being imprisoned.
The breakfast table scene has the main characters dressed in the three primary colours (yellow, red, [navy]blue) to symbolize the divisiveness of the family by this point in the movie.
This shot in "American Beauty" was intended to resemble a man in a jail cell, evoking the director's intended theme of imprisonment and escape from imprisonment
A sign on Lester Burnham's desk says "Look Closer" in American Beauty; A phrase that was repeated in promotional materials and packaging. Look Closer hints at some of the movie's many connecting themes.
The Mr. Smiley's that Lester orders from, and later works at, promotes free napkins
Kevin Spacey's character is called Lester Burnham. This is an anagram of Humbert learns, referring to the protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita. Lester is meant to be a version of Humbert who sees the error of his ways.
this frame, American Beauty (1999) is paying homage to The Godfather (1974). Just like in Coppola's film, the oranges symbolise death in the family.
Carolyn is driving home singing "Don't Rain on my Parade" as she ironically calls out Lester for his new Firebird and r/c car.
"Fight Club" and "American Beauty" both main characters blackmailed their bosses for a full-year-salary in exchange of quitting their jobs, and they both manged to. Both movies came to theaters in 1999.
