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America the Beautiful

R Released Aug 1, 2008 1h 45m Documentary List
73% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Questions and interviews explore America's obsession with beauty.

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America the Beautiful

America the Beautiful

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Critics Consensus

This doc doesn't expose any new territory about our unattainable standards of beauty, but does manage to entertain with an effective and accessible tone by filmmaker/subject Darryl Roberts.

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Critics Reviews

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Anna King Time Out Rated: 2/5 Nov 18, 2011 Full Review Andrea Gronvall Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Nathan Rabin AV Club Perhaps in future exposes Roberts will uncover that ice is cold and furnaces hot. Rated: D Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Debbie Lynn Elias Behind The Lens Touching on the tip of an iceberg, AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL takes you to the precipice with its thought provoking commentary on our society and then keeps you hanging on long after you leave the theater... Nov 6, 2019 Full Review Melissa Camacho Common Sense Media Probing docu about society's obsession with looks. Rated: 3/5 Jan 2, 2011 Full Review Jennifer Merin About.com America's obsession with beauty is the subject of filmmaker Darryl Roberts wide-ranging investigative documentary that shows how beauty product manufacturers manipulate the public. Rated: 4/5 Jun 27, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (60) audience reviews
Audience Member good doc check out part 2 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member thoughtful and well informed look at the beauty industry and ideals in America and beyond Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting and sometimes shocking documentary, but on the whole there is nothing new or surprising here. The film covers a multitude of different topics without delving too deeply into any one of them or delivering any original insights. Still recommended as food for thought. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member I saw this rare treat on Netflix. With an election coming up, the banality level is going through the roof. I'm one of those persons who urges voters to 1) become informed and 2) be discriminate in what passes as knowledge. This movie does not take sides, but in the scream loud nonsense and flat out lie until people believe you, the far right (even the close right) is winning hands down. However, the movie is none-too-gentile on the liberal psychobabble on child rearingâ"so don't expect your side to be handled "fairly" while the other side is righteously blasted to fire and brimstone. Some viewers will be offended by the violence as two characters--a middle age man and teeny-bopper --blast away the many ills and evil they find in contemporary society. (Where were these guys when I needed them when a person disrupted a movie with their cell phones?) However, the violence is more like a pointer in a presentation--"Look at this" --than the kind of violence in the blood baths found in horror films that have no message other than to scare dates into a clutching snuggle. Some who see this film will come away with "OMG, they shot a reality show star!" and others will think, "Not a bad idea..." The whole point is to look at what has happened to our culture, as smallness and meanness have replaced any kind of nobility and decency. (Even 'nobility' has come to mean 'entitled.') Just you wait, though. Some half-wit will claim films like this 'caused' the massacre at the Batman movie. They'll have missed the point entirely and perhaps belong on that list of contemporary shallowness in thought and deed. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member All women should watch this. Wow. They really mess with our heads! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting but still didn't manage to change my mind... Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
America the Beautiful

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Questions and interviews explore America's obsession with beauty.
Director
Darryl Roberts
Producer
Darryl Roberts, Kurt Engfehr
Screenwriter
Darryl Roberts
Distributor
First Independent Pictures
Production Co
Sensory Overload Productions
Rating
R (Sexual References|Some Language)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 1, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 23, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$76.2K
Runtime
1h 45m
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