Being Charlie Kaufman

Rating: 7/10 (14 April 2004)

*** Beware *** The following contains minor Spoilers.
After "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation", do you think writer Kaufman would turn conventional? Not in the least. The film's title is a line from Alexander Pope and fits this plot precisely. The images are all mixed up, like a dream. No, like a dream that's being constantly interrupted, erased, and replayed. The screenplay is highly original, going where few movies have gone before, with the notable exceptions of "BJM" and "Adaptation". The cast is familiar, we've seen them in quite a few movies by now, but here they each create something different. Kate Winslet is Clementine, the girl of many hair colors, who decides to rid herself of all memories of Joel (Jim Carrey). Mark Ruffalo, with his hair standing on end, is the computer nerd who hurriedly rushes to put his pants back on when Joel's reprogramming ends prematurely. Elijah Wood, with the long, long sideburns looks otherworldly (again) as the assistant computer nerd who woos Clementine post-brain damage. Kirsten Dunst is sweet and her hair is not much different from previously seen in other films as is Tom Wilkinson's, who is quite the ladies man in this pic. Mr. Carrey goes from trauma to trauma, and is in dire need of a haircut. Why my obsession with the cast members' hairstyles, you ask? Why do Joel and Clem walk on thin ice? Why does Clem work at Barnes & Noble? Why does the house fall down around them, literally? Why does Joel hide under the kitchen table and shrink? What does all this mean? That even though you get bored with someone and are embarrassed to be with them in public and say all kinds of mean things about them behind their backs, it's still likely that this is your one true love? That premise doesn't work for me. I see this film as a slight disappointment after the two previous Kaufman films I've mentioned, but superior to much of what's in theaters now.