Being John Malkovich

the movie's poster
the movie's poster

Anybody looking for a stoner movie even better than The Wall? Because if you are, Being John Malkovich will definitely sooth you for a while. The basic premise of the movie is that Craig Schwartz (John Cusack), a failing puppeteer, finds a door that allows its entrant access to the world as seen through John Malkovich’s own eyes.

Sounds pretty cool, huh? Let’s go farther. The door is located at Schwartz’ work behind a filing cabinet. The floor the offices are located on is #7 1/2; it has ceilings about 4 feet above the floor. Schwartz’ wife (Cameron Diaz) discovers her lesbian tendencies after her first “trip” into Malkovich and later uses the door to have sex with Schwartz’ love interest at work. Those are the basics without giving away anything important relevant to the ending.

Nearly everything about this movie makes you realize that your imagination isn’t as cool as you think it is. One very strong and interesting aspect of this movie is the lack of special effects. The view of people sliding into Malkovich’s mind is the only sequence I can think of. Another small weird observance of the movie is the number of cameos it has. Randomly, we see Brad Pitt, Andy Dick, Sean Penn, Winona Ryder, Charlie Sheen, and all three of the Hansen boys (yes, those Hansens). If only we could have seen Keanu Reaves, it would have been complete.

Time for my final opinion. I give it a B+. If I did drugs, I would definitely give it an A+, but alas, I do not smoke pot or do anything of the kind. This movie is by far the most original, creative piece of work I have seen in quite a while.