When "American Beauty" came out, we loved everything about it. From the performances of Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, and Chris Cooper, to the adolescent beauty of Mena Suvari (whatever happened to Mena Suvari?), to the exploration of the emotional emptiness of suburbia. So we applauded all the awards, including the Oscar received by director Sam Mendes.

Now? "American Beauty" is often put down, cities as one of the least-worthy Oscar winners. It's become fashionable to dismiss it as 90s kitsch.

But we'll still feverishly defend it. Sure, it might not be exactly subtle, and yes, Wes Bentley is terrible, and G-d damn, that stupid flying bag... No! Minor flaws in a great film!

Does the fact that Mendes is Jewish have anything to do with our stance?

Absolutely not!

Seriously, we like that movie.