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About This Quiz
Dysfunctional family life has been portrayed in cinema for a century, but few have captured an Americana spirit quite like Sam Mendes' 1999 critically acclaimed success American Beauty.
Tackling subjects like divorce, drug dealing, child abuse, murder, and many others, American Beauty told a complex narrative ripe with sexual frustration that captured audiences for decades. That's all without to mention the trove of accolades awarded to the film during the 1999-2000 film awards season. Winning five Academy Awards, six BAFTAs, and three Golden Globes, the film is regarded as one of the greatest American movies ever produced.
But just how much do you remember about this modern classic?
Did you know that Alan Ball was sitting in the World Trade Center when he saw a bag floating in the wind, inspiring him to write the movie? How about how Jake Gyllenhaal and Seth Green both auditioned for the role of Ricky Fitts, eventually being played by Wes Bentley? Do you remember how much money the movie made at the box office?
Look closer and this cinematic masterpiece and see how well you remember American Beauty.
How old is Lester Burnham at the beginning of the movie?
40
41
42
Through a voice over in the opening, Lester tells the audience that he is 42 and will be dead within a year.
43
Kevin Spacey won an Oscar for his portrayal of Lester Burnham. However, it was not his first Oscar win. For what earlier film did Spacey win the Best Supporting Actor award?
A Time to Kill
Glengarry Glen Ross
Seven
The Usual Suspects
Spacey won for his portrayal of criminal mastermind Keyser Soze.
Chris Cooper played this retired military officer and neighbor to the Burnhams.
Colonel Frank Fitts
Cooper acted in a number of other hits from that era, including The Patriot (2000), The Bourne Identity (2002), and Adaptation (2002), for which he won an Academy Award!
General Frankie Frisch
Lieutenant Daniel Taylor
Admiral Chester Nimitz
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What progressive rock band do Lester and Ricky bond over when Lester first buys weed from Ricky?
Jethro Tull
Pink Floyd
The original script called for Lester to find a copy of "Sgt. Pepper's" and ask if Ricky liked the Beatles.
Genesis
Rush
What other cast member was nominated for an Oscar for their performance in American Beauty?
Chris Cooper
Thora Birch
Mena Suvari
Annette Bening
Bening was nominated for Best Supporting Actress but lost to Hilary Swank for her performance in Boys Don't Cry.
What is the strain of marijuana that Ricky sells Lester?
G20
G13
G13 is supposedly a hyper-potent strain grown by the government. In reality, marijuana grown by the federal government has a very low potency and quality.
OG Kush
UB40
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American Beauty director Sam Mendes next directed this 2002 gangster film set during the Great Depression and starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman.
Scarface
Angels with Dirty Faces
The Road to Perdition
Mendes has also directed the most recent James Bond films, Skyfall and Spectre.
Gangs of New York
What sports car does Lester purchase in the film?
1970 Pontiac Firebird
The 1970 Firebird was the first year of the line's second generation, and sales were delayed until February of 1970 because of the redesign.
1966 Ford Mustang
1970 Dodge Challenger
1969 Chevy Corvette
What kind of car did Lester trade in when he bought the sports car?
Ford Taurus
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry has been the top selling car in the United States nearly every year for the past two decades, making it the most generic car Lester could drive.
Chevy Malibu
Dodge Neon
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What is Carolyn Burnham's profession?
School teacher
Attorney
Real estate agent
Carolyn often seems to struggle in her business and admits to lagging far behind "Real Estate King" Buddy Kane, with whom she later starts an affair.
Accountant
What does Ricky tell Jane is the most beautiful thing he's ever recorded?
A dead bird
Angela
Petals from a rose
A plastic bag drifting in the wind
The scene is one of the films most memorable but also most parodied, being featured in both Family Guy and Not Another Teen Movie.
What pop star and future American Idol judge choreographed the Spartanette cheerleaders' dance routine?
Janet Jackson
Paula Abdul
Abdul started her career as a dancer and choreographer and even performed as a Laker Girl for several years!
Simon Cowell
Steven Tyler
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What former Quantum Leap star portrayed the Burnhams neighbor, Jim Olymeyer?
Scott Bakula
Bakula would later play Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise.
Sam Robards
Dean Stockwell
Wes Bentley
Conrad Hall won an Oscar in what category for his work on American Beauty?
Film Editing
Original Music Score
Visual Effects
Cinematography
Until his death in 2003, Hall was one of the most acclaimed cinematographers, working on classics such as Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Marathon Man.
At what fast food restaurant does Lester take a job?
Burger World
Paunch Burger
Mr. Smiley's
Lester pursues the job so that he can have the least possible amount of responsibility.
Big Kahuna Burger
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What Guess Who song does Lester sing while driving and smoking a joint?
"These Eyes"
"American Woman"
Kevin Spacey improvised this scene, but the director thought it was so good that he left it in the film!
"No Sugar Tonight"
"No Time"
What does Jane ask Ricky to do in the opening of the movie?
Run away with her
Move in with her
Sell her weed
Kill Lester
In the original script, Jane and Ricky are put on trial for Lester's murder with the videotape as the key piece of evidence, but the plot line was cut for being too dark.
What horror movie do Lester and Ricky discuss while getting high outside the realtors' party?
Evil Dead
Re-Animator
The 1985 cult film is about a scientist who discovers how to bring corpses back to life.
Friday the 13th
Nightmare on Elm Street
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How does Ricky get clean urine to pass the tests his father gives him?
From Jane
From Lester
From a client who is a pediatric nurse
In real life, a urinalysis could detect this deception, as the levels of hormones in the sample would be wildly different.
From his mother
What Bob Dylan song, later made more famous by Jimi Hendrix, is Lester listening to while lifting weights when he is interrupted by Carolyn?
"All Along the Watchtower"
The song has been covered dozens of times by artists including the Dave Matthews Band, U2, and Neil Young.
"The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest"
"Maggie's Farm"
"Like a Rolling Stone"
Finish this Ricky Fitts quote: "Never underestimate the power of _______."
Money
Denial
This line is often seen as foreshadowing of Colonel Fitts' repressed homosexuality.
Drugs
Sex
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What is the name of Lester's supervisor at the magazine?
Bert
Brett
Brad
Lester leaves the job at the magazine after blackmailing Brad and threatening him with a sexual harassment suit if he doesn't give Lester a full year's pay as severance.
Bort
This director of classics such as ET and Jaws was responsible for purchasing the film's script.
Oliver Stone
Martin Scorsese
Steven Spielberg
Spielberg was also responsible for hiring American Beauty director Sam Mendes after seeing his production of Cabaret.
Francis Ford Coppola
What vegetable does Lester ask Jane and Carolyn to pass at dinner before smashing the dish against the wall?
"The fucking broccoli"
"The fucking peas"
"The fucking cauliflower"
"The fucking asparagus"
Lester follows this up by demanding that they start alternating music selections at dinner because he is "tired of this Lawrence Welk shit."
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Who kills Lester?
Colonel Fitts
Colonel Fitts kills Lester after he kisses Lester and exposes the truth about his sexuality.
Ricky
Jane
Carolyn
Why does Colonel Fitts kick Ricky out of the house?
He believes Ricky is having sex with Lester.
Colonel Fitts watches Ricky sell weed to Lester, but because of his vantage point, it appeared to be a sexual encounter.
He believes Ricky is having sex with Jane.
He believes Ricky is selling drugs.
Ricky's urinalysis showed drug use.
To where does Ricky plan to run away after being kicked out?
Los Angeles
San Francisco
New York
Ricky plans to take $40,000 he has saved and use his drug connections to get set up in the city.
Chicago
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When Lester walks in on Angela in the living room near the end of the film, she is listening to a cover version of "Don't Let It Bring You Down." What Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young member originally wrote it?
David Crosby
Stephen Stills
Graham Nash
Neil Young
The song originally appeared on Young's classic solo album After the Gold Rush.
What secret does Angela tell Lester at the end of the movie?
That Jane and Ricky are plotting to kill Lester.
That Carolyn is cheating on him.
That she is a virgin.
Appearance versus reality is one of the central themes of the movie, and this revelation fundamentally alters the way both Lester and the audience view Angela and leads Lester to decline Angela's sexual offers.
That she is in love with him.
What Beatles song is played over the closing credits?
"Because"
The version heard in the film is a cover performed by Elliott Smith.
"All You Need Is Love"
"A Day in the Life"
"Let it Be"
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What type of roses are featured throughout the movie?
Tiffany
Romantic
American Beauty
The rose is popular in the United States, but rare elsewhere, and it has been featured in American culture going back to the song "American Beauty Rag" and on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty.
English
On what street do the Burnhams live?
Robin Hood Trail
The street name is meant to evoke the color red, which is used prominently throughout the film.
Elm Street
Sycamore Drive
Autumn Lane
How much did American Beauty make at the box office?
$100-$200 million
$200-$300 million
$300-$400 million
The gross was $356.3 million. However, much of this was made after the film won performed well at the Golden Globes, and it re-expanded to 1,990 theaters in March of 2000 after already diminishing to seven theaters in February.
$400-$500 million
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What is the tagline of the film?
Things are not always what they seem
Look closer
The phrase can be seen on a small poster hanging on Lester's cubicle.
Family isn't a word. It's a sentence.
Nothing is as simple as black and white.
Who won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for writing American Beauty?
Charlie Kaufman
Paul Thomas Anderson
Alan Ball
Ball said that he was inspired to write the story by his unexpectedly emotional response to seeing a plastic bag floating in the wind by the World Trade Center and the trial of Amy Fisher.
Cameron Crowe
You Got:
/35
The Movie DB