A great premise squandered

Rating: 6/10 (19 February 2000)

I remember when I first heard the premise for this movie, I wanted to just get up and cheer - it sounded so great! A guy discovers a secret portal into the head of John Malkovich, allowing people to experience what it is like to be the famous (but not too famous) actor for 15 minutes at a clip, before being dumped out onto the New Jersey turnpike. Bizarre, surreal, and totally original. Which is why it's such a shame that the movie ends up using this device in service of a rather lame romantic triangle between John Cusack, Catherine Keener and Cameron Diaz, none of whom create a very interesting or likable character to begin with. The movie could have explored the nature of celebrity, or the psychological need people have to "get inside" someone else's head, or to live vicariously through others. All these things are touched on to some extent, but they take a backseat to what becomes essentially a boring sex romp.
Still, there are some wonderful things here. The 7 1/2th floor is an invention of Monty Pythonesque lunacy, and it provides the film with a hilarious visual motif. The actual scenes of entering the portal and being inside Malkovich's head are shot with great deadpan brilliance. And Malkovich himself is totally amazing - wonderfully droll as "himself" and then suitably off the wall as his body becomes overtaken by forces beyond his control. He truly deserves the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor this year (just think how great the acceptance speech would be!)
Of course, the fact that in a movie entitled "Being John Malkovich," John Malkovich himself could be considered only a *supporting* actor is entirely the problem. I wanted more of him, and less of the dippy trio mentioned above. The movie frustrated me - it could have been so good, and settled for being ordinary. Ultimately, the things that are good about it do make it worth seeing, but just barely. And don't expect any comic masterpiece; all the critics that hailed it as such were talking about what the film could have been, not what it is.
Rating: 6/10