Lester Burnham (Spacey) is a 42-year-old father and advertising executive who serves as the film's narrator. "I'm 42 years old; in less than a year, I'll be dead. Of course, I don't know that yet. And in a way, I'm dead already." Lester's family life is messy—his wife Carolyn (Bening) is an ambitious realtor who feels that she is unsuccessful at fulfilling her potential, and his 16-year-old daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is unhappy and struggling with self-esteem issues. Lester himself is a self-described loser in a dead end job with despicable bosses he does not respect. Lester is reinvigorated, however, when he meets Jane's friend and classmate Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari) at a high school basketball game. Lester immediately develops an obvious infatuation with Angela, much to his daughter's distress. Throughout the film, Lester has fantasies involving a sexually aggressive Angela and red rose petals. The Burnhams' new neighbors are Col. Frank Fitts, USMC (Cooper), his dissociated wife Barbara (Janney) and his teenage son Ricky (Bentley).