Being John Malkovich - R

Kids won't get this sex-driven, head-trip comedy.

Rating: R for language and sexuality Studio: Universal Pictures Directed By: Spike Jonze Cast: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich Running Time: 112 minutes Release Date: 06/06/1999 Genre: Drama

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that teens may be interested in this comedy because it stars Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener from The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but they won't get the offbeat, adult humor and storyline. Also, the film is explicit about sex, sexual behavior, and infidelity. John and Maxine have sex several times and you can hear characters reaching climax, though no one is naked. Maxine calls Craig a "fag," and belittles his sexuality. Craig kidnaps, cages, and terrorizes his wife when she falls in love with Maxine. There's discussion of homosexuality and of transexuality.

Families can talk about what celebrities they'd like to be and why. Do you think being someone famous would give you the rush it gives the people who go inside John Malkovich's brain? It's a good opportunity to talk about the cult of celebrity and how it makes us feel bad about ourselves in order to sell us more things.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Heather Boerner

Dude, here's a head trip for you: BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, like The Big Lebowski, is like taking a wild ride through a surreal world. Unlike Lebowski, Malkovich is expressly not about being yourself and getting your rug back, man. It's about the joy of being someone else -- someone famous and therefore better.

Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a self-centered, struggling puppeteer who prefers his love unrequited and his self-worth to come from public acclaim. When his wife Lotte (an unrecognizably frizzy-haired Cameron Diaz) urges him to get a job, Craig finds himself a file clerk on the 7 1/2 floor of a building where there's a special feature: a portal into the brain and life of John Malkovich. See him ordering towels, reading the Wall Street Journal, going to a playhouse, having sex. It's all better, it seems through Malkovich's eyes.

When Craig reveals the portal to conniving coworker Maxine (Catherine Keener), she uses his attraction for him to convince him to rent the portal out. When Lotte tries the portal, she realizes for the first time that she might be attracted to women, and Maxine in particular. But as Maxine, Craig, and Lotte get sucked further into the rabbit hole of being John Malkovich, their relationships and lives start to unravel.

The characters in this movie are unabashedly narcissistic and borderline sociopaths. Craig, for instance, creates a puppet of himself and choreographs him having a meltdown. The fun of the film is to watch such people do completely unbelievable things. And there's no need for sympathy for the characters -- it's about watching the train wreck that ensues and enjoying all the bizarre and funny lines that make for some truly inventive screenwriting.

"There's a tiny door in my office, Maxine," says Craig. "It's a portal and it takes you inside John Malkovich." "Don't stand in the way of my actualization as a man!" demands Lotte. Or she asks: "Do you think it's weird that John Malkovich has a portal, like there's some kind of significance to it?" Of course it's weird. That's what's so fun. Don't think, just watch it and enjoy.

Besides The Big Lebowski, people who like this movie may also like Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Rushmore.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content There's lots of sexual discussion, sexual behavior, and sex talk. Craig has his puppets talk about their sexual thoughts and simulate masturbation. Lotte and Craig, who are married to one another, both lust after Maxine, and both have sex with her through John Malkovich. There are scenes of Malkovich and Maxine having sex, though she's never completely naked. John kisses Maxine's naked thighs. Lotte talks about being a man trapped in a woman's body and in the end has a lesbian relationship with Maxine.
Violence A man punches Craig for his sexually explicit puppet show. Lots of falling to the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. Craig imprisons Lotte in the chimp cage and holds a gun to her head, forcing her to lie.
Language Lots of salty language, including "bastard," "motherf--ker," "bulls--t," "spunk," "tits," "f--k," "s--t," "asshole," and "suck my dick." People are also called names like "fag" and "retard."
Message
	Social Behavior Most of the characters are selfish and amoral. Maxine and Craig sell trips to John Malkovich's brain. Craig terrorizes his wife.
	Commercialism
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Craig, Maxine, and John Malkovich all drink alcohol at different points. Maxine smokes cigarettes. Lotte talks about smoking pot and Maxine rolls a joint, though she doesn't light it. John Malkovich talks about being stoned.