American Beauty Appearances Quotes

This lovely mother-daughter moment is brought to you by Carolyn's obsession with appearances. While you'd think a mother would try to boost her teen daughter's self-esteem, Carolyn is so obsessed with looks that she can't help but criticize Jane for not meeting her expectations for beauty.

Carolyn repeats this phrase to herself as she prepares a house for showings in a tone that's so ridiculously bright and sunny that it can't be real. She's clearly trying to pump herself up and ooze confidence, but unfortunately, the whole thing comes off as kind of desperate… and that desperation definitely shows up more and more as she deals with disinterested buyers all throughout the day.

Carolyn is just as hard on herself as she is on the rest of her family, as it turns out. When her showings don't go well, she gets upset afterwards—and then screams at herself for being so weak. She's supposed to be strong and confident, you see, and so any crack in that façade is totally unacceptable in her eyes.