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"'Being'
on Top"
by Scott Mantz
"Being John Malkovich"
John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, John Malkovich
Directed by Spike Jonze
Celebrity is
a funny thing. Those lucky enough to have it spend less time enjoying
its benefits and more time complaining about its downside (poor
baby!). The rest of us are so intoxicated by what we see on TV and
read about in entertainment magazines that we naturally dream about
what it's like to be famous. John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine
Keener are given the chance to not only live vicariously through
the life of a celebrity, but to actually be that person in the wildly
bizarre, incredibly original, and immensely entertaining "Being
John Malkovich".
If I didn't
have to summarize the plot in words, I wouldn't believe it. Pay
attention. Nerdy and artistic Craig Schwartz is a New York City
puppeteer who has fallen on hard times (was there ever a good time
for puppeteers?). At the advice of his shy, pet-loving wife Lotte
(an almost unrecognizable Cameron Diaz), Craig takes a day job on
the 7 1/2 floor of a Manhattan office building where, when he's
not doing his job as an ace file clerk, he's lusting after his sexy,
cold-as-ice office mate Maxine (Catherine Keener).
Are you following
me? Good, because here's where it gets tricky. One day, Craig accidentally
finds a door hidden behind a filing cabinet. In a truly "Alice in
Wonderland" moment, he discovers that the door is actually--get
this--a portal to actor John Malkovich's brain. Confused? Wait.
There's more. After spending 15 minutes living through Malkovich,
he finds himself dumped outside New York City alongside the New
Jersey Turnpike. When he turns Lotte and Maxine onto the experience,
what follows is not only the most incredible manifestation of American
Capitalism, but also the most unusual display of wife swapping ever
seen in motion pictures. Got it? Sure you do!
You've got to
admire the filmmakers for one thing--this is surely the most original
film to come along in some time. Director Spike Jonze combines his
music video experience with the obvious influence of the Cohen Brothers.
The result is a film that may require one big leap of faith, but
you give yourself over to it entirely without questioning anything.
This allows Jonze to pull out all the stops. Just when you think
it goes too far, the movie pulls you along into even more forehead-slapping,
unbelievable, and hysterical circumstances.
Jonze sets his
already surreal characters in even more surreal settings. Craig's
home life is deplorable. When he's not trying to block out his nagging
wife and her rampant pets, he loses himself in his puppeteering.
His office environment is even worse. Since the building is on the
7 1/2 floor, the ceilings are so low nobody can stand straight up
(this is the executive's idea of keeping a low overhead). He works
for a boss who's clearly out of his mind, and his secretary misunderstands
everything everyone is saying.
Since the plot
is so over the top, this allows the actors to go even further with
"nothing-to-lose" performances. John Cusack is excellent as the
meek, passionate puppeteer torn between his respect for Diaz and
his lust for Keener. After the thrill of living someone else's life,
he becomes obsessed with repeating the experience until he masters
his craft with none other than Malkovich himself. After solidifying
her angelic and comedic chops, it's hat's off to Cameron Diaz for
playing as far against type as you can possibly get. The fact that
you would never guess it was her behind the brown, frizzy hair accentuates
how wonderful she is in the role. Catherine Keener goes even further
with the cold, insensitive turn she took in "Your Friends and Neighbors"
and plays her role with just enough passion to make her sexy and
enough insensitivity to keep her untouchable.
Of course, none
of this would have been possible without John Malkovich. As for
why he was chosen instead of a Tom Cruise-type, it's because Malkovich
is almost more well-known for his arrogance than for the roles he's
played (which, by the way, nobody can remember). It's one thing
for an actor to play someone else, but it's something else entirely
to play yourself as others see you. Fortunately, Malkovich pulls
it off and shoots his reputation in the foot by laughing (very hard)
at his own image. One of the film's many inspired scenes involves
a cameo from someone else who obviously has no problem laughing
at himself (like his audience)--Charlie Sheen!
One can argue
that the film asks viewers to not only question their own obsession
with celebrity, but to think twice about bothering them on the street.
Yes, there's some truth that celebrities give up their notoriety
and privacy when they cross the line, but it doesn't mean they should
be respected any less. Finally, it's about spending less time trying
to be someone else and more time just being yourself.
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