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Being John Malkovich
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener,
John Malkovich, Charlie Sheen |
| MPAA Rated: |
R |
| Released By: |
USA Films |
| Kiddie Movie: |
Let's see? Sex. Nudity. Bad language. A fucked
up story line. I don't think so. |
| Date Movie: |
She might chuckle or hate you. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
Some, and some nipple shots of Catherine. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Craig locks Lotte in a monkey cage. |
| Action: |
Not really. |
| Laughs: |
Lots. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
John Malkovich entering John Malkovich. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
Too many to quote. |
| Directed By: |
Spike Jonze |
| Produced By: |
Michael Stipe, Sandy Stem, Steve Golin, Vincent
Landay |
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Being John Malkovich
A Movie Review |
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I would have loved to have been a fly
on the wall listening in at this pitch meeting. "Well, the
basic story of the movie goes like this. There's this loser
puppeteer. He can't find a job as a puppeteer, is slightly
perverted, and his wife is a little goofy and loves animals,
especially taking care of a monkey who has ulcers and is in
therapy, the monkey that is. Well, one day this puppeteer
finds a job on the 7 ½ floor of an office building. The
room is about 5 feet high so everybody has to crouch over.
While there he finds the woman of his dreams but she has no
interest in him. Then, one day he finds this door, crawls
through, finds himself in John Malkovich's head, and then
after about 15 minutes he gets spit out on a ramp near the
Jersey turnpike." "Did you say 'John Malkovich?'" "Yea,
well, his nutty wife goes through the portal, thinks she'd
like to be a man, falls in love with the hot chick his
husband wants, and guess what, the hot chick falls in love
with her, but only if she's in John. But then the puppeteer
realizes he can stay in John Malkovich and the hot chick
doesn't seem to care, sort of." "That's it?" "Well, you've
also got a horny old boss who has this mysterious connection
to John Malkovich." "And we have to have John Malkovich?"
"Well, yea, otherwise the title 'Being John Malkovich' will
be pretty silly now, wouldn't it?"
So, did you catch that? I can see you reading the basic
gist of the movie above and going "Wow, that sounds pretty
fucked up. I don't know if I want to see that." Well, "Being
John Malkovich" is pretty fucked up, but totally enjoyable
in a fucked up sort of way.
The movie has lots of laughs, mostly for the
unbelievability of it all. First of all there is the 7
½ floor, which you enter by hitting the stop button in
the elevator as the light goes between 7 and 8 and prying
open the doors with a crowbar. You can't help but laugh as
totally normal people walk around, hunched over, and find
this normal. John Cusack as the wacky puppeteer, Craig, is
great. Cameron Diaz does probably the only role I've ever
seen her where I didn't find her totally hot (just partially
hot) as Lotte, Craig's wife. Maxine (Catherine Keener) plays
the "able to use any man" role just about perfect. And John
Malkovich plays himself, which sounds bizarre enough,
especially when John Malkovich isn't really John Malkovich
but is John Malkovich possessed by Craig. I know, it sounds
twisted, but somehow it all comes together.
I guess going into any more of this movie won't help
because it probably won't make any more sense than what I
wrote above. Let's just say that the humor isn't the
gut-busting kind, but there are lots of laughs and chuckles,
mostly at the expense of John Malkovich and one at the
expense of what Charlie Sheen will look like when male
pattern baldness sets in.
I think you will come out of "Being John Malkovich" in
one of two ways, either really liking the movie and saying
it was twisted or really hating the movie and saying it was
twisted. I'm on the liking side and give it 4 stars out of
5.
That's it for this one! I'm The Dude on the Right!!
L8R!!! |
