Jonze certainly has talent, but "Being John Malkovich" is not his best

Rating: 6/10 (27 August 2016)

This movie has a truly bizarre premise. Let's just get that out of the way off the bat. Before I started watching, I was already excited to see how such a bizarre idea could function on screen. But, a lot of movies don't live up to their premise, and this is one of them.
It isn't just the premise that is bizarre: the characters are even more wacky. In a strange and unfamiliar world, I expect a movie to have a strong protagonist with whom I can identify. This movie had no such thing. The protagonist is so strange and illogical that the viewer feels like an outsider looking in for the entirety of the film. When everyone on screen is a weirdo, I'm not too invested in their interpersonal drama.
"Weird" and "deep" are not one in the same. Jonze puts a cast of weird characters on screen but he gives them no depth. Catherine Keener's character is the supreme example of this: she is supposed to be confident, sexy, and complex, but she comes off as random, illogical, and weird. She doesn't act like a real person, she acts like a poorly written character in a film that's trying too hard to be artsy.
Nonetheless, the movie packs some laughs. Appearances from celebrities playing themselves is always good for a smile from the audience, and this film does it in an amusing way. There are also two short mockumentaries within the film that are pretty much gold.
If you are drawn to the premise like I was, or you like Jonze's other work, you're probably going to watch this movie. I still can't recommend it.