P.T. Barnum was right...

Rating: 4/10 (4 December 2005)

...and I wouldn't be surprised to find that Spike Jonze is a relative.
Let's make it quick--a milquetoast puppeteer (Cusack), his wildly environmentalist wife (Diaz), and his opportunistic co-worker (Keener) discover a portal which leads from the "13"th floor of an office building into the conscious of actor John Malkovich. It becomes a great way to make some quick cash, until the actor himself finds out and the true purpose of the portal is revealed.
Granted--the film is definitely unique, and is a scathing, honest comment on America's overdone obsession with celebrity. Unfortunately, it has no staying power in the area of cinema. So many celebrities--and critics with celebrities for friends--sang it's praises so loudly that it came to mean nothing to those of us who aren't celebrity, thus the mission failed. The story pushes the point a little too hard, and there are almost no characters to like. Most heartbreaking is the character Orson Bean plays--having been used to him playing a cornucopia of charming characters, I was saddened to see him reduced to the role of a wacky, twisted cult-leader. I would not see this film again.
Ironically, the only reason to see this contrivance is Malkovich himself. He firmly steals the show from the climax to the very end. After this film, I gained new respect for him as an actor. I guess it wasn't a total loss--okay, okay, one more star, but that's it!