 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Being John Malkovich
- Review Date: June 4, 2007
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 1999
Common Sense Media says
Kids won't get this sex-driven, head-trip comedy.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
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.
What's the story?
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 (Cameron Diaz) urges him to get a job, Craig becomes a file clerk on the 7 1/2 floor of a building with 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 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.
Is it any good?
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.
The characters are unabashedly narcissistic and borderline sociopaths. Craig, for instance, creates a puppet of himself and choreographs him having a meltdown. The fun is in watching them 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 in the truly inventive script. Of course it's weird. That's what's so fun. Don't think, just watch it and enjoy.
What families can talk about
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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AGE
This is a great movie for 15+ if they are mature. I would recommend this to people that like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which is by the same director.
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One of my favorite films as a kid
My parents showed me a lot of films young and this was likely my favorite film when I was about eight. It didn't disturb me too much and I still like it now. I think younger kids can watch it, they wouldn't understand the messages, it won't be harmful to your child.
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I loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, so I thought I might as well check it out since it's by some of the same people. Unfortunately, I didn't like this one nearly as much. It deserves credit for being clever and original, and it has a couple of brilliant surreal scenes, but something about Being John Malkovich rubbed me the wrong way. All the characters were despicable and real creepy, and the whole movie was so cynical and bizarre that it soon became a little tiresome. Interesting, but not a very enjoyable film. I'd recommend Eternal Sunshine instead.
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Bizarre, Clever, and Unique, But Inconsistent
Being John Malkovich is genius in its bizareness. It's crazy and inventive and witty, but it also begins with more promise than it turns out to have in store for us. The first half hour or so is virtually flawless, but the rest of the movie becomes too dark, too intense, and too different from the first portion of the film. About an hour into the film, I found myself feeling almost bored. The movie begins with an Alice-falling-down-the-rabbit-hole feel to it--and Jon Cusack does in fact fall down something of that nature--but it transforms into something a little too dramatic and a little too intense.
Although the movie is a little inconsistent and rather dark, I definitely suggest it to those who appreciate the bizarre. Overall, I was glad that I watched it, and I think others will feel the same if they don't mind the unreserved strangeness. This film is probably okay for most older teens, although there is a lot of bad language, sexual themes (including one fairly explicit, on-screen sex scene), and characters that are not best described as good role models.
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| Studio: | Universal Pictures |
| Director: | Spike Jonze |
| Cast: | Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Cusack, John Malkovich |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 112 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | June 6, 1999 |
| DVD release date: | November 5, 2002 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | language and sexuality. |
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