Whose stream of consciousness are you in?

Rating: Null/10 (7 November 1999)

"Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo. . . . ."
If you sense any resonance from reading the above words it is very likely that you'll like Being John Malkovich. But even if the above makes absolutely no sense to you, there's still a good chance you'll like the film.
The idea of shared and/or exchanged consciousness is not new - I have no idea how far back it goes in literature (my degree being not in literature, but in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio; so I cracked up very early in the film when Dr. Lester remarks that Floris has her doctorate in speech impedimentology from Case Western - no such degree program exists currently;). In the past few decades I can think of a few Star Trek episodes that dealt with the situation and a short story ("Human Is") by Philip K. Dick.
I'm sure there were a lot of little quips in the film that had either multiple meanings or just single ones that slipped me by. The film was so whimsical that there were very few times that the general good humor was overwhelmed by the more serious incidents. The 7 1/2th floor concept had the audience I was in chuckling for an enormous period of time.
But the frivolity is underlaid with some interesting philosophical concepts, which Craig (John Cusack) mentions several times in the film. While it's no doubt possible to see the film, have a good time, and forget about it, it could also be a good film to see with friends and discuss for some time.
It's always interesting for me to go into a film not knowing who the actors are and seeing whether I recognize them or not. I only knew Malkovich was in this film. I didn't recognize Cameron Diaz and a number of other people, which is a testament either to my lack of perception and/or the superlative acting and/or makeup departments. All in all a most delightful film which I wouldn't mind seeing again.