I don't get it

Rating: Null/10 (9 September 2015)

At first this movie seems great. I actually thought for a while that this might be a Terry Gilliam film, with its bizarre sets, odd characters and dystopian set designs and aesthetics. It was not, but it seemed like it, and the first third of the film was immensely enjoyable as we slowly get to know this strange world.
And then they went nowhere with it. Sure, there is a portal that leads into John Malkovich's head. But what they do with it is the least imaginable thing. And why even John Malkovich? The writer Charlie Kaufman has said that Malkovich was always his first and only choice, but I just don't see why. He certainly stands out because of his looks, and he has the acting skills to play the different people inhabiting his head, but aside from that there's nothing interesting about him shown in this film. He lives in an apartment, tries out for roles and that's it.
Plus the fact that the main character is a puppeteer. Okay, at first that's interesting. It's out there, not something we see in every movie and jives well with the whole bizarre first third the movie has. But then it is stretched way out of proportion, with much of the running length dedicated to odes to puppetry. Why? Sure, there's the joke about the ultimate puppet, but there needs to be more than that. Now it barely connects with anything.
Then there are the romance subplots, which are passable, though boring, and mainly there to move the plot along. The final truth about the portal is also pretty lame. It's pretty much what you would guess if you sat and thought for a minute.
All in all Being John Malkovich was a huge disappointment for me. If you have a story about a portal that allows you to control a real life Hollywood star, go all out. Don't give us this halfway there balderdash. Be Terry Gilliam. Make it as weird as possible. Attempting to put logic and cohesive narrative into it only waters it down.