Okay, here's the deal. For a couple of year's worth of med school, I toyed with the idea of going into psychiatric medicine. I've always found the inner workings of the human mind incredibly fascinating, especially in the small detailed behaviors that make everyone just a bit different from everyone else. Ultimately, though, I gave up on the idea when I realized I could spend years just trying to figure my ownself out.
But, because I'm a Renaissance man (as well as a modest one...), I still like to dabble a bit, just trying to figure out what makes people do what they do. I'm amazed that there are people that will readily agree that there could be life on other planets, but still feel the need to touch a bench with a "wet paint" sign on it. It fascinates me to see people taste something that tastes horrible, then try to get someone else to taste it to make sure it was horrible. My personal favorite is the guy who likes to smell his own shoes after a good 18 holes of golf, then invites his buddies to "share" the aroma.
I guess there's just no figuring out some folks. Same way for movies sometimes. I mean, you get your standard fare most of the time, and then, BOOM, you get something that's so off the beaten path, you either think that the filmmakers are absolutely crazy, or pure geniuses. Trey Parker and Matt Stone teeter on that little tightrope now and then. So do the Farrelly Brothers. But, friends and neighbors, let me introduce you to two new faces in the Mad Genius Club. Director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. Their new movie, Being John Malkovich, is absolutely insane, in almost every definition of the word. It is also one of the most bizarre, and funniest, movies I've ever seen.
John Cusack stars as Craig, an ultra-serious artist whose chosen medium is puppetry (which in and of itself is one of the funniest things in this movie...a serious puppeteer?) He's a dreary, pessimistic guy, and he's at the end of his rope, financially and otherwise. He takes a job as a file clerk for one Dr. Lester (Orson Bean). Bean's offices are on the 7 1/2 floor (yep) of a Manhattan office tower. Everyone that works in these half-floor accommodations has to walk bent over and sort of scuttle like a kid playing in a cardboard box. One of these workers, Maxine played by Catherine Keener (Out of Sight), is an acerbic wench, and Craig falls for her quickly, despite having a wife named Lotte (Cameron Diaz).
Well, ol' Craig is hard at work one day when he notices a little bitty doorway in a corner of his office. Curiosity being what it is, Craig investigates what the doorway leads to. Seems it leads directly into the cerebral cortex of an actor, one John Malkovich. A visitor can enter, and, for 15 minutes, be inside the mind of John Malkovich. They can see, hear, feel, and taste whatever John is experiencing, whether it be having sex or ordering bath mats. Then, when the 15 minutes are up, the visitor is promptly ejected from Malkovich's mind onto the shoulder of the New Jersey Turnpike. Maxine sees this as a mondo opportunity to cash in, charging people to be John Malkovich. Craig is just freaked out by it. But when Lotte tries it, well, let's just say she gets to experience something that changes her whole outlook on life. Want a hint? Lotte and Maxine and Craig end up in sort of a love triangle.
Folks, this movie is a phenomenon unto itself. I'd swear to you that Terry Gilliam had placed his spirit in the mind of Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, because this is surely Gilliam-esque. Bizarre concepts that immediately are accepted as fact. Freaky details that are downplayed into nothing then flashed again to highlight; one in particular is Craig and Lotte's choices of house pets, including a chimpanzee with subtitled flashbacks. The film's climax is a chase scene through Malkovich's subconscious mind, reminding every Doonesbury fan of the infamous tour through Reagan's Brain.
And, for all its delightful loopiness, this thing also manages to make some interesting points on life, believe it or not. Whether it's termed satire or commentary, this film deals with the public's lust to be famous, free will, gender lines, id, eto, etc. Political comment one second, madness the next, and laughter throughout.
On the acting front, Cusack goes against type as a loser/drudge who looks like he was washed in a creek and beaten on a rock. Keener finally gets to show her talent as a comedy performer. Cameron Diaz is almost unrecognizable in her non-makeup, non-coifed, dumpy character, until she finds love in the most unexpected way, so to speak, then she comes alive with passion. But the hero here is John Malkovich himself, who generously allows the filmmakers to mock his legendary "serious actor" image, and truthfully, it's fantastic to see the man unclench his jaw, loosen his belt a notch, and just raise the roof without busting a vessel in his head. Even Charlie Sheen, in a bit part, gets in on the act, mocking his own bad-boy image.
You may know Spike Jonze from his recent role in Three Kings or, more appropriately, from his canon of legendary music videos (the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" is a classic example). He is known for a unique vision and off-the-wall sense of humor, which made this script the perfect choice to be his feature debut. It's also Kaufman's first produced script, and, please, allow me to be the first to suggest that these two be handcuffed together and the key be thrown into a volcano. The two combine as smoothly as any good team. I.A. Diamond and Billy Wilder, Gilliam and the Python crew, Ethan and Joel Coen, all these writer/director teams that seem to read one another's minds and go accordingly into the arena to make movies that stand out as something special.
The only down side to this movie is the seeming lack of support Universal Studios is giving it. I've seen only a few TV ads; I've seen the trailer once or twice. And then letting it be buried in the pre-Thanksgiving rush, before things like Schwarzeneggar's next epic napalm festival, Toy Story 2, and Sleepy Hollow jump in and flood the theatres. Being John Malkovich deserved a release back in October, when things were slow, and we were all dying for a bit of the old madness to sweep in and save us from all the formula flicks priming for Oscar Night 2K. If there's any justice out there, this movie, and its writer and director, will all be remembered in February, and, for my money, Malkovich just locked away a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
People, I know the next couple of weeks are going to be rough on you. You're going to want to see the Headless Horseman, the Austrian Jawbone, and the Pixar magic, not to mention James Bond. But I'm begging you -- find the time to see Being John Malkovich. You'll never forgive yourself if you do the old "wait till it hits video" thing, because by then, with any justice, you'll be the last person to know how madness and genius go hand in hand. Especially in this film....
Being John Malkovich is crazy! It's bizarre! And it may just have the most unique identity of any film released this year. For once, do what the Doctor tells you and fill your "bizarro" prescription before the stress of the holidays hits you full flush. One dose of Being John Malkovich will stay with you for a good long time, and keep your mental health on track, too. Laughter is the best...well, you get the point.
Image copyright Gramercy Pictures.
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medical miracle