AMERICAN BEAUTY
Lester Burnham is a cynical 42-year-old man living in the (1) _________________. His
wife Carolyn is an(2) ________________, but bitter, burned-out (3) ________________
who secretly dislikes her work. Their (4) _________________ Jane is a “typical” teenager,
_______________,____________________,_________________.
Neither Lester nor Carolyn are at all happy in their marriage; each one (5) _____________
the other one for their ______(6) _____________________ and as a result, they spend
many dinners bickering across the table at each other, which in turn costs both of them
Jane’s respect.
However, Lester finds motivation for transforming himself after meeting (7)
_______________, Jane’s best friend and classmate. Angela, a beautiful, confident, and
supposedly (8) ___________________ cheerleader who aspires to be a model, captivates
Lester the moment he sees her perform a school dance routine, and he develops an obvious
crush on her, much to Jane’s (9) ________________ and disgust. Angela, however, finds
Lester “sweet” and later comments to Jane that if he were more muscular, she would make
love with him, which Lester (10) __________________. He starts an intensive workout
regimen.
Lester, who secretly enjoys annoying Carolyn, also begins to revert to adolescent,
immature behavior and begins smoking (11) ________________ and flirting with Angela.
Meanwhile, a family consisting of the conservative Colonel Frank Fitts, his catatonic wife
Barbara, and their (12) _________________ son Ricky moves next door to the Burnhams.
Jane begins to notice Ricky videotaping her through her bedroom window, which secretly
(13) _________________ her.
In one eventful day, Carolyn begins an (14) ___________________ affair with a rival
realtor, Buddy King and also decides to begin relieving her stress at a (15)
_____________________; Lester is fired from his job (which he really is not sorry about
since he hated the job anyway), mouths off at his boss, then (16) ___________________
his boss for an enormous severance package, and begins work anew at a fast food
restaurant, wanting the job with the “least possible amount of responsibility”, which (17)
______________________ Carolyn, who will now have to shoulder the bulk of the
household bills; and Jane and Ricky bond over camcorder footage of a plastic bag
“dancing” in the wind, which Ricky considers the most beautiful thing he has ever
recorded.
The next day Lester calmly catches his wife with her lover at a (18) __________________
of a fast food restaurant where he has now taken a job. Carolyn’s lover breaks off their
liaison, and she angrily drives home with her gun with the intention of (19) ____________
her husband, believing him to have ruined her life. Lester calls Ricky to the house for
marijuana, raising the suspicions of an already angry Col. Fitts, who becomes convinced
that his son is gay and subsequently forces him to leave the house.
When Ricky and Jane plan to leave for New York City, Angela who is visiting Jane’s
house, accuses both of being “freaks”, to which Ricky (20) _______________ that she is
ugly, ordinary, and boring. At the same time, Lester is confronted and kissed by an
emotional Col. Fitts, but he rejects this advance as a (21) ______________________ .
Lester then finds Angela in tears. His attempt to (22) __________________ her derails
when she says that she is a virgin. He cannot bring himself to take her virginity and instead
makes her a snack and soda in the kitchen. For the first time in a long while, Lester realizes
that he is not so (23) ____________________ anymore and is enjoying a high, especially
when Angela asks how he is; Lester is flattered at having a young girl (24)
_________________ him once again. As Angela heads to the bathroom, Lester
contemplates an old photo of his once-smiling family - (25) ___________________ that a
gun is being held to his head.
The movie ends with Lester’s description of his life (26) __________________ before his
eyes, interspersed with scenes of his family and others at the moment of the (27)
_____________________. It is revealed that the gun that killed him was in fact that of Col.
Fitts, and not Carolyn’s. Lester’s final narration is I can’t feel anything but
________________ for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what
I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry... you will someday.
WORDS
REALTOR
FLATTERS
INTROSPECTIVE
SHOOTING
RANGE
BLAMES
BLACKMAILS
CYNICAL
POT
CONFRONTING
RETORTS
DRIVE-THRU
WINDOW
SUBURBS
ADMIRING
EMBARRASSEMENT
OVERHEARS
AMBITIOUS
EXTRAMARITAL
SEDUCE
UNHAPPINESS
INFURIATES
UNAWARE
GUNSHOT
PROMISCUOUS
GRATITUDE
MISUNDERSTANDING
DAUGHTER
FLASHING
ANGELA HAYES