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Being John Malkovich Customer Reviews (25 - 27 of 67 Reviews)

STRANGE,BORING,AND DEPRESSING YET STRANGLY ENTICING
I had intrest in this film in the first place because of it's director Spike Jonze,oddball '90s alt-rock video auteur had directed it
(among his work are Beastie Boys' "Sabotage",Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet",Weezer's "Buddy Holly",etc.).
Since his videos are very offbeat yet fun and stylish I thought that he would bring that same appeal to the big screen.

Sadly no."Being Jon Malkovich" is just odd and depressing and at times very dull and stagnant.Nothing more really.Don't believe me?
Then i'll try to summeriaze the plot ,an out-of-work puppeteer(John Cusack)
gets a part-time job as a file clerk.There he leads into a portal
into the mind of actor John Malkovich.He,his witty co-worker
(Catherine Keener) and eccentric,pet-loving wife(a ghastly-wigged
Cameron Diaz) devise a scheme to let anyone go through the mind of Malkovich just for $200 a pop.Strange,huh? That's not all,
the kicker is that you only get to become Malkoich for a matter of minutes until you're dumped off the New Jersey Turnpike.
As I said,this film is VERY strange(oh,yeah,I forgot most of this happens on the 7 and 1/2 floor of the office;don't ask me!).

"Being" comes off as a mix of bizarre "Saturday Night Live" skit,
benign sci-fi flick,and weird exploration of celebrity obession and self-worth(again,don't ask me!).

The movie isn't neccesacarily bad nor is it "outstanding",it's just well,too odd to really judge.But to point out the postive points,I can say that Jonze's wry,(VERY) offbeat humor and the film's sparse direction is creative and at times,strangely enticing.(Yet this movie is way too dreary and it's very depressing for some reason).

If you know Spike Jonze,you know that you're in for a weird,wild ride and "Being" promises to be just that but just adds up to being weird.

P.S.:The DVD features are intresting though.The bizarre TV spots,
weird segments(one page features a in-depth look at puppetering),
blank page,and an interview with Spike Jonze(which ends with Jonze vomitting) are worth giving this film a try...if you like your cinema a little bit strange...

Wow... who knew Hollywood could suprise us!
1999 was the best year in movies I can remember. granted I'm only 23 and don't have that many years to go by, but 1999 was incredible. Sixth Sense, 3 Kings, Fight Club, American Beauty, Blair Witch, etc etc. And the most original of them all, Being John Malkovich. This movie is strange, just plain strange.

A puppeteer (John Cusak) is working for a filing company on the 7 1/2 floor of a building (yes, you read that right). He finds a door that goes into the mind of John Malkovich. After 15 minutes, he's shot out of John's head onto the side of the NJ Turnpike. Makes perfect sense right? In order to enjoy this movie, you better check your rational thought at the door.

Oh man, what a ride. This movie challenges everything we've come to expect from cute little cookie cutter movies that come out of hollywood. Thank god some people out there still have the courage to make something completely different. I applaud everyone involved in the making of this movie, you all rock.

The DVD is even stranger than the movie. The extras here are bizarre at best, including a page with nothing on it. There's isolated versions of the movies shown in the movie(strange), an interview with the director(stranger), and a 15 minute car ride with an "extra" as she rambles on and comes across as a complete psycho(strangest).

Whew man... This package is really beyond rational words, so buy it and see for yourself

One of the most strikingly original recent Hollywood movies
1999 was a very good year for films indeed, with Fight Club, Memento, Boys Don't Cry, Magnolia and Being John Malkovich all being released in the space of a year. Being John Malkovich is probably the most promising debut of any director that I've ever seen, ranking right alongside last year's Lantana. Directed by Spike Lee, formally known for making pop videos, this is as surprising as it is astonishing. Telling the story of Cusack's disillusioned puppeteer who whilst working on the 7th and a half floor of an office building discovers a way into John Malkovich's mind, this is brilliant filmmaking from start to finish. As the movie progresses Cusack's character falls in love with the seductive Keener. It's just unfortunate that his animal-obsessed wife (Diaz in a completely unforgettable role, not just for her acting ability but for the fact that she manages to look dowdy) becomes obsessed with being John Malkovich and that Keener is in love with her inside of Malkovich.

It would be completely impossible to pigeon-hole this into any one genre. Suffice to say that its a twisted love story fantasy science-fiction dramatic comedy. What makes the movie though, as well as its sheer and consistent originality, is its performances. Cusack and Diaz for once are playing the losers, the dowdy couple who appear doomed to a life of miserable boredom. Keener as the maneater is also incredibly enjoyable, winning herself a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her multi-faceted performance that could so easily have fallen into parody. Perhaps what is most delightful though is John Malkovich himself playing along with it all, poking fun at his public persona where nobody can remember any of his films and he's often overly dramatic. Indeed, the scene where he enters his own mind just to see a nightmarish visual of his head imposed on other people's bodies, each one only able to utter 'Malkovich' can only be described as comic genius.

There are countless aspects of this movie that make it enjoyable, although probably the most refreshing aspect of it all is that it was made in the first place. It would seem that hte public have become tired of blockbusters and are craving for something different. Being John Malkovich is about as far removed from the typical Hollywood movie as you could possibly imagine and not something you'd perhaps expect to see big name stars in. The only thing I can think of is that the actors read the magnificent script. Equal parts nightmare and fantasy, Being John Malkovich is one of the most original Hollywood pictures ever released. I can't recommend it strongly enough.

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