American Beauty Alan Ball & Sam Mendes
I think there are significant parallels between this film and Blue Velvet (American Beauty - Red, Blue Velvet - Blue; American Beauty - Roses, Blue Velvet - Fire; the strong sexual overtones; the violence; commentary on the idyllic American life). I do think American Beauty is the stronger film, Ball's screenplay is significantly tighter than Lynch's and it's point comes across more emphatically. Each character is fully fleshed and they come together in an extremely serendipitous way. Music is amazing. A cinematic classic. I do wish it wasn't so linked to Kevin Spacey.