Identity Crisis

Rating: Null/10 (17 June 2002)

Aspiring artist/office drone Craig and his wife Lotte (John Cusack and Cameron Diaz, both with really unhappy hair) are unhappy with each other and the blandness of their lives. He turns to sassy but indifferent co-worker Maxine(Catherine Keener) for romance...she to her menagerie of wise-cracking birds and an annoyingly subtitled chimpanzee. Craig discovers a portal into the mind of You Know Who (curiously fey real-life John Malkovich), eventually transforming the actor into the world-renowned puppeteer he's always dreamed of becoming. Turns out Lil Lotte is really a lesbian and also falls for Maxine. The tug-of-war for her affections (as well as Malkovich's body) begins! Randy, grandfatherly Dr. Lester (Orson Bean) and the always charming but inexplicably present Mary Kay Place provide comic relief in this body-snatchin' treatment of unrequited love. Cusack tries too hard to be disheveled and misunderstood, but succeeds merely in making his character pathetic and unlikeable... greasy hair and tortured puppydog eyes can only go so far. Instead, watch for Keener's trademark detached curiosity as she toys mercilessly with her suitors. Watch also as the heavyhanded characterizations and plodding score try to teach you a thing or two about immortality, loneliness and dirty commerce. Thankfully, BJM's flawless script provides its own portal to a rewarding couple of hours.