John Cusack is Craig Schwartz, a struggling puppeteer, although he is amazingly skilled, there is just no work for puppeteers. Even when he takes his show to the street, he only manages to get punched out. He needs a new job to help support his wife, all her animals and her new desire for a baby. Cameron Diaz is his wife Lotte; she works at a pet store and keeps all kinds of animals from a chimp to an iguana. Diaz us nearly unrecognizable under the horrendous hair she is wearing. This is a good thing though, because the movie is about people wanting to be someone else. If she or Cusack looked the way they normally do, you just couldn't feel sorry for them.

Because he is so skilled with his hands, Craig finds work as a filing clerk. This is the most bizarre office possible. His boss is an old coot who won't stop talking about his sexual needs, the secretary can't understand anything anyone is saying, and the ceilings are only five feet high. Don't worry it explains the ceilings in the film. Here Craig meets and starts his obsession for Maxine, Catherine Keener playing what she always does, the stuck up bitch. Craig then accidentally discovers a portal into John Malkovich.

This is where things start to get really strange. You just have to see it for yourself, possibly the weirdest relationships ever put on film, and in my favorite scene Malkovich enters his own portal, you can't even imagine what happens. 1999 must be the year for re-evaluating your life. This film goes along the same lines as American Beauty and Fight Club, a film where the characters are not happy with who they are and what their position is in life. Where as the others take you to places you could actually find yourself, Being John Malkovich takes you where you never thought possible. Strongly recommended for those who will allow themselves to leave reality, all others will probably find it too far out there.

Cast & Crew
Official Site JM Inc.
Trailer Screenplay