mmmmmm.... a cinematic multi-course, well-balanced meal (**** out of ****)

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 1999)

These days, critics (and even non-critics) complain quite frequently about the number of "cookie-cutter" motion pictures out on the market. "Cookie-cutter" refers to common, formulaic movies that basically tell a different version of the same general story that people have heard many times before. From generic teen-based romantic comedies to uninspired, "scary" slasher films (I NEVER go to any film that falls in these categories) re-hashes can be found everywhere as well as cranky critics yearning for innovation. Well folks, put away your cookie-dough and get ready for a new kind of treat!
Today in society's "Cooking-With-Film," we've prepared something truly original, and we like to call it BEING JOHN MALKOVICH. It's a "comedy", to be sure, but we took our time in meticulously planning this well-balanced meal into something smart and fresh. For example, where else can you take a big bite out of a gag known as the 7 1/2th floor, where the ceilings are low-overhead and the elevators must be pried open to get there? How about a chimp who is in psychotherapy and goes through a flashback complete with subtitles for those of us who don't speak ape-language? A strange sequence where everyone looks like Malkovich and every word spoken is "Malkovich?" Timely messages about manipulation, sexual identity, control, celebrity, and the need for release of one's own boring life? How about some big laughs to go with it? It's all here, and we made sure to use our deluxe eggbeater for this job..... Seriously, folks, no one will find anything like this all year. For about 110 minutes, director Spike Jonze pushes the envelope, taking us down hidden tracks in the roller coaster of innovation. Whenever I could see in the distance where BEING JOHN MALKOVICH was headed, the results genuinely surprised me. The acting was superb all around, with John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener drawing us into their own little movie-world where we don't spend time hunting for seams in plot. Most impressive of all is, you guessed it, John Malkovich, who has the interesting-but-tough job of re-inventing himself as a man being possessed by others. He gets all the little details right; there's not a single contrivance throughout his catastrophic situation. What a great sport he is for letting the film-makers poke fun at him throughout the movie. In the end, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH deserves a place on many Best 10 Lists at the end of 1999, and definitely a nomination for Best Picture along with American Beauty and The Green Mile. If the Academy members don't consider this, they need portals into their heads so someone can slap some sense into them. For the rest of us, bon apetite!