A great movie-- with strings attached.

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 1999)

This film is absolutely awesome. Never have I seen anything quite like this. In a span of only its first 15 minutes, this film covered and delved into much deeper themes that most movies can't even fully develop in a three hour time slot.
Cameron Diaz shows us a side of her acting that she has not ever shown before. Instead of playing the cute and stylish dream girl (as she played in "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "There's Something About Mary"), she trades in her chic blond hair for a massive, mousy brown nest of frizz. The superficial attitude and flights of giggles are gone; her character has depth, and Diaz does an excellent job of playing opposite John Cusack.
Bravos to Malkovick (playing "himself"), Cusack, Diaz, and Catherine Keener. This movie is a kick-butt premier for Spike Jonze-- I can't wait to see his next feature length film.
This is a must see for anyone who has ever wanted to be someone else, anyone who craves more to life than what's on the surface, and/or anyone who has ever wondered just who really is in control of his/her life.
Be sure to see this with someone intelligent so you can wage some decent discussion and debate afterwards.
There are strings attached: you won't walk out of this movie as the same exact person as you were when you walked in. If you understand any of the many themes, you will feel enlightened.
What more could you want in a film? There's satire about American society, philosophical thought throughout, a mirror of the quientisential Everyman, and it's all tied together with an edge of eerieness, straight-up humor, and cameos by Sean Penn and Brad Pitt... all while poking fun at itself!
This smorgashboard of good stuff makes "Being John Malkovick" a hit! I walked out of this film introspectively examining myself, but looking at the world through a new pair of surrealist sunglasses.