Weird movie, but in a good way!

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2000)

After seeing this film, the first word that came to my mind was "weird." This is a WEIRD movie. But! I mean that in a good way. For one thing, it's very original, and that's certainly something that's been lacking in Hollywood for a long time. It's about this talented, down-on-his-luck puppeteer (John Cusack)who accepts a meaningless job for a company that operates on the 7 1/2 floor (you have to see it to believe it, trust me) and discovers in his office a portal that takes him to the mind of actor John Malkovich. Not to Malkovich's HOUSE, mind you, not to his office, but into his actual mind. Yes folks, it's an existential conundrum of a movie. What's it like to be John Malkovich, you wonder? Watch and learn, Gentle Viewer, watch and learn. We see John in the morning, making himself some breakfast, we see him rehearsing at a local theater, we see him hitting on the ladies, and we see him commiserating with Charlie Sheen, of all people (I didn't even know they ran in the same circles!). But being in John Malkovich's head is only one of the issues at hand - how this all affects the puppeteer's girl (an unrecognizable Cameron Diaz) and his newfound partner (Catherine Keener) and how THEY interact is even more intriguing. This isn't a movie the likes of which you've seen before, you see. Just when you think you have stuff figured out and you can settle down and gnaw on some stale pretzels, something else weird happens to make you have to rethink it again.
This is certainly not a movie for all tastes, just as "Eraserhead" wasn't a movie you'd recommend to everyone you know. If you're a fan of the offbeat, the odd, or the downright weird, here's your movie. Enjoy!