A good movie but not a great one.

Rating: 7/10 (14 September 2008)

A good movie. A clever movie. A great movie? No way. Not even close. The movie has a muddled story and is not particularly humorous. BUT there is one aspect of this movie that saves it from DVD oblivion - the stellar performance of John Malkovich. Mr. Malkovich makes this movie work. He is actually FUNNY. This cannot be said for the other performers. Was Frances McDormand funny? NO. Brad Pitt? NO. By the way, he was not the Brad Pitt of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Troy, two movies in which he excelled. Brad Pitt playing a buffoon is an example of flagrant miscasting. Nevertheless the actors give strong performances and the story does offer an interesting take on the nature of bureaucracy and human irrationality. There are movies in which casting top stars as goofy, cartoon-like characters work, but this is not one of those movies. Casting Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Jack Black, Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, or Steve Carell as buffoons can generate laughs with the right material but comedic acting can fall flat with the wrong cast and in this movie, with the exception of Mr. Malkovich, it falls flat.