Interesting; pretty far from great

Rating: 5/10 (30 October 1999)

BEING JOHN MALKOVICH has an interesting premise with implications it follows unerringly. It also has an unfortunate core of unpleasantness -- a cast of characters almost entirely with negative qualities, ranging from pathetic to evil -- which hurts quite a bit, I think. I don't wonder that these folks would be desperate to shuck off their own personas for fifteen minutes, or that their own morality would allow them to exploit Malkovich; what would have been interesting is the idea of the decent person seduced by such an idea -- that might have led to a Hitcockian setup in which the hero is often "punished" for being bored and wishing something, anything, would happen.

There are funny jokes and great touches here and there: Malkovich tries the portal himself to hilarious effect; Diaz's character bumping her head and she moves murderously through a doorway. Overall, the movie is overrated probably because it succeeds in not being stupid, and there are genuine surprises. Could become a cult film, or be properly revisited and dismissed much as WILD AT HEART was.