Well, just by coincidence I saw American Beauty last night so here's my verdict - it wasn't a perfect movie, but I liked it. I recognized a lot of people I know (including myself in some respects) in those stereotypes. It really was a pretty insightful commentary on contemporary American life - yes it was cliched but it was supposed to be. It had some surprising twists - like the repressed gay character and the "slutty" blond that really hadn't slept around at all, etc. And the dark ending was disturbing but at least it wasn't a cop out where everybody resolves their differences and gets back together. I'd give it 4 stars.