3 1/2 stars

This movie is so strange that the only way I can recommend it is to say: If you loved “Being John Malkovich,” you’re going to love “Adaptation.”
The first film was directed and written by the same pair who bring to the screen this equally quirky, strange outing that has moments of hilarity as it pokes fun at movie making and even at itself.
The movie is about a book, sort of. Nicolas Cage plays Charlie Kaufman, who is assigned to adapt the quite real “The Orchid Thief” for the big screen. Charlie struggles with his task -- in fact, he struggles with darn near everything. He has little self confidence, he worries himself into a frenzy, and he just can’t get it together with a woman who obviously cares for him.
Try though he might, he just can’t figure out a good way to adapt the book, which actually is about an oddball real-life character named John Laroche (Chris Cooper). Charlie decides that maybe he needs to meet the writer, Susan Orleans (Meryl Streep), then chickens out of a face-to-face conversation with her.
Donald (also Nicolas Cage), Charlie’s twin, enters into Charlie’s problems by deciding one day that he, too, will become a screenwriter. Donald, who couldn’t be called a workaholic by any means, decides to attend a screenwriters’ conference and suddenly finds that he has a marketable product on his hands. His beginner’s luck is infuriating to Donald, who continues to struggle with “The Orchid Thief” screenplay.
The film goes back and forth in time, and even goes back to the filming of “Being John Malkovich” for a real mind-bending sequence.
Not only is it a character study of Charlie and Donald, but it’s also a character study of Susan and John Laroche. Susan is searching for passion in her life -- she wants to become obsessed with something as much as her subject, John, is obsessed about finding orchids.
The show is not for people who enjoy straightforward entertainment -- it’s quite the opposite of mainstream filmmaking. Instead, it’s a sophisticated romp for those who like to be challenged by pictures that make them think.
P.S. Charlie Kaufman, the actual screenwriter, also gives credit to his fictional twin brother, Donald Kaufman, who is a character in the movie. Analyze that.

Running time: One hour and 50 minutes.
Rated: R for foul language, sexual situations, nudity and violence.
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Judy Greer and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Director: Spike Jonze.
Screenwriters: Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman (yeah, right), based on Susan Orlean’s “The Orchid Thief.”