Movie connections for
American Beauty (1999) More at IMDb Pro »

Edited into

Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003) (V)
 -  footage

References

Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1952)
Ikiru (1952)
 -  opening narration about a dead main character
Rear Window (1954)
"The Lawrence Welk Show" (1955)
Yojimbo (1961)
Send Me No Flowers (1964)
Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)
Genou de Claire, Le (1970)
Dodesukaden (1970)
The Stepford Wives (1975)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Marathon Man (1976)
All That Jazz (1979)
Ordinary People (1980)
 -  A shot of the Burnham family eating at the dining room table is an homage to a similar scene in Ordinary People. Director Sam Mendes confirms this in the DVD commentary.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Beau-père (1981)
Bliss (1985)
Re-Animator (1985)
 -  The characters talk about a scene of the movie.
True Stories (1986)
Withnail & I (1987)
"America's Funniest Home Videos" (1990)
The Borrower (1991)
Benny's Video (1992)
 -  Very similar behavior of the video guy (Ricky Fitts / Benny)
Patriot Games (1992)
 -  In American Beauty, the childhood pictures of Thora Birch (one of her in a tuxedo-like outfit) previously appeared in Patriot Games (1992).
The Ref (1994)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
The Cable Guy (1996)
Wag the Dog (1997)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
 -  The end credits extend special thanks to "Dr. Bill & Alice."

Referenced in

Fight Club (1999)
 -  Seen on a marquee when Jack puts Marla on the bus.
The Insider (1999)
The Sims (2000) (VG)
What Planet Are You From? (2000)
Chiedimi se sono felice (2000)
Donnie Darko (2001)
Bodilfesten 2001 (2001) (TV)
 -  Nominated actors belong to this film.
Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001) (VG)
 -  In the video after the credits, Conker calls the bartender "Cowboy", and asks him to pour more in his glass, just like Lester.
Tomcats (2001)
The Hole (2001)
Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001)
 -  Nino carries around a plastic bag and in the diner Joesph refers to him as 'the guy with the plastic bag.' Homage too Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.
Storytelling (2001)
Clara y Elena (2001)
 -  The movie is mentioned by the character played by Carmen Maura
Hello, He Lied & Other Truths from the Hollywood Trenches (2002) (TV)
Queen of the Damned (2002)
About Schmidt (2002)
Showboy (2002)
Road to Perdition (2002)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
 -  Similar opening shot of an endless suburb
Armaan (2003)
"Serrano, Los: Benny, Tonny y Marky (#1.12)" (2003)
 -  They recreate the famous rose petal scene from American Beauty.
Home of Phobia (2004)
 -  When talking to Tazwell about "perfect moments", Amanda refers to "a white plastic bag whirling in circles in the breeze"
Grace and the Storm (2004)
 -  narrated from beyond the grave
Agnes und seine Brüder (2004)
 -  -
Tell Them Who You Are (2004)
Less Like Me (2004)
 -  Version of line spoken by Mena Suvari is spoken
In Good Company (2004)
 -  In the soccer-scene, a line from American Beauty is quoted
Lost in Plainview (2005)
 -  mentioned in dialogue
Happy Endings (2005)
 -  Discussed by name in the dialogue.
"Saturday Night Live: Paul Giamatti/Ludacris featuring Sum-41 (#30.10)" (2005)
 -  Mentioned in the Limo Ride skit
Be Cool (2005)
 -  In dialog, after Tommy is shot.
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005)
 -  poster shown in collage
Madagascar (2005)
 -  Alex is laying on the beach with steaks coming from above
"HBO First Look: Jarhead (#12.24)" (2005)
 -  mentioned once
"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Rashomama (#6.21)" (2006)
 -  The music played during in the first two flashbacks (Sara's and Nick's) is the original music from the movie American Beauty
"Saturday Night Live: Annette Bening/Gwen Stefani (#32.8)" (2006)
 -  referenced during the monologue
"Entourage: Less Than 30 (#3.13)" (2007)
 -  Sam Mendes and the movie are mentioned by Vince
Be Kind Rewind (2008)
 -  Video Seen
"Saturday Night Live: Michael Phelps/Lil' Wayne (#34.1)" (2008)
 -  The bag from that movie is mentioned in Pizzeria Uno sketch

Features

This Is the Army (1943)

Featured in

The 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2000) (TV)
 -  clips
The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000) (TV)
American Beauty: Look Closer... (2000) (V)
Éloge de l'amour (2001)
Carving Out Our Name (2001)
 -  Covers the making and the premiere of American Beauty
Masters of Production: The Hidden Art of Hollywood (2004) (TV)
 -  Discusses Production Design
The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV)
 -  Clips from the film were shown on the television display on the set.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
 -  Clip
Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)
 -  A clip is shown
Indie Sex: Teens (2007) (TV)
 -  A clip is shown
"SexTV: Cheerleader: The Changing Face of an American Icon (#9.29)" (2007)
 -  Clips from film are used in episode.
"20 to 1: Sexiest Movie Moments (#5.3)" (2007)
 -  Clips shown in a segment on its rose petal scene.
My Big Break (2008)
 -  Follows Wes Bentley while he played Ricky Fitts
The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)
 -  Featured in Best Picture montage.

Spoofs

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Spoofed in

All American Beauties (2000) (V)
 -  rose petal sequence at beginning
Otto - Der Katastrofenfilm (2000)
The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000) (TV)
 -  Billy Crystal's Opening Skit
Scary Movie (2000)
Whipped (2000)
American Beauty Pie (2000)
 -  this short film is a parody of Amer. Pie and Amer. Beauty, they have some of the same dialogue and plotlines
"Comedy Lab: Anderson (#3.7)" (2000)
 -  Spoof of the plastic bag scene
Chiedimi se sono felice (2000)
"Saturday Night Live: Mena Suvari/Lenny Kravitz (#26.10)" (2001)
 -  Spoofed during the monologue
The Holly Wood Project (2001)
 -  Shot for shot recreation of American Beauty trailer.
Tomcats (2001)
Storytelling (2001)
"Family Guy: The Kiss Seen Around the World (#3.8)" (2001)
 -  Video taping Bag scene
"Family Guy: Peter Griffin: Husband, Father... Brother? (#3.14)" (2001)
 -  When the cheerleaders perform at Chris's basketball game Peter has a vision like that of Lester in "American Beauty" with the flying rose petals.
Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
 -  weird guy with video camera loves bag
Sorority Boys (2002)
"The Wrong Coast" (2004)
 -  "American Beauty" spoofed as "American Booty"
Madagascar (2005)
 -  plays the American Beauty & spoofs the rose petal scene when everything Alex sees becomes a steak
Camp Cuddly Pines Powertool Massacre (2005) (V)
 -  Rayford always has a handheld camera and dresses like Ricky Fitts from AB, girl claims he watches her from next door
Daisy Does... (2006)
 -  Daisy Dog recreates scene with red satin and rose petals
"Robot Chicken: Donkey Punch (#2.19)" (2006)
 -  painting of Gary Coleman naked covered in roses
What What (In the Butt) (2007)
 -  the scene where Samwell is nude in the rose petals

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