A few months after the film 's release , reports of a backlash appeared in the American press , and the years since have seen its critical regard wane . In 2005 , Premiere named American Beauty as one of 20 " most overrated movies of all time " ; Mendes accepted the inevitability of the critical reappraisal , saying , " I thought some of it was entirely justified — it was a little overpraised at the time . "