Rhode Island native Mena Suvari first caught audience's attention as the best friend who commits suicide in The Rage: Carrie 2 and as the object of a serial killer's obsession in Kiss the Girl. Suvari also appeared in the NBC television movie The Atomic Train with Rob Lowe before she was thrust into the limelight thanks to her part in the most successful teen film since Wes Craven's Scream, the teen sex comedy American Pie.
In an effectively appealing performance, Suvari played Heather, a choir girl who falls in love with lacrosse player Chris Klein. While most male-driven teen sex films of this genre offer weak female characters, American Pie offers a strong feminine sensibility and the basic message that ultimately, it is the women who call the shots. Suvari's character embodies this theme as she tries to teach Klein exactly what it means to be sensitive. Their relationship gave the film a definitely heart, one that balanced the outrageous humor and helped American Pie reach for the top of the box office.
Following the release of Pie, Suvari next appeared in a dramatic role in Sam Mendes' acclaimed ode to dysfunctional suburbia, American Beauty. In this satirical, yet dramatic film, Kevin Spacey starred as a man going through a decidedly offbeat midlife crisis. Unable to relate to his wife (Annette Bening) and daughter (Thora Birch), Spacey soon becomes infatuated with his daughter's best friend, the sexually promiscuous, visually perfect Angela, a role played to perfection by Suvari.
However, what makes American Beauty a compelling and fascinating film is that nothing is what it seems. The film effectively probes beneath the facades of its characters, and while Angela is initially painted as superficial and self-absorbed, American Beauty reveals layers underneath that are beautifully realized by Suvari as the movie reaches its brilliantly-conceived climax.
With her roles in both American Pie and American Beauty, Suvari has shown that beneath her knockout, angelic looks, she possess a considerable acting ability. And while Pie has already proven to be a major box office success, Beauty is promising to be a major critical success; especially since the film already has generated Oscar buzz within the industry and the media. With both of these films to her credit, Suvari has managed two very different, though equally successful achievements.
What's more is that in Beauty, she built on the potential that she demonstrated in Pie, and that is a sign that Mena Suvari is an up and coming actress who demands attention; not only for her gorgeous looks, but for her evident acting talent as well.
