American Beauty and Lester Burnham's life.

American Beauty American Beauty, a story about Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), his family, and his neighbors, is both funny and tragic. In addition to a loveless marriage, an unhappy teenage daughter, and a dull, boring, routine job, Lester is worried about aging. His idea of the "ideal" life turned out far from what he expected. From the outside, all seems "ideal" from a nice big house, to the well-tended red roses, and the white picket …

…it started, with Lester's voice narrating. He says he could be angry at what happened to him but isn't. He says this because, though he was killed through a twisted misunderstanding, he got to see that life is about living. Not just about going through the same routine day after day, trying to live the "normal" life. This was the meaning behind American Beauty, "look closer", not to live the manufactured so called "American Dream".