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Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich (1999)

tomatometer

92

Average Rating: 8.1/10
Reviews Counted: 119
Fresh: 110 | Rotten: 9

Being John Malkovich is both funny and smart, featuring a highly original script.

93

Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 25 | Rotten: 2

Being John Malkovich is both funny and smart, featuring a highly original script.

audience

85

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 227,791

My Rating

Movie Info

Would you pay money to journey into the mind of the star of Con Air, The Killing Fields, and In The Line of Fire? Puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is having money problems, so he takes a temporary job as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a large office building. One day, while rummaging behind a cabinet, he finds a small door that leads to the center of the mind of actor John Malkovich (played by, you guessed it, John Malkovich). Craig discovers that entering the portal

R, 1 hr. 52 min.

Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

,

Charlie Kaufman

May 2, 2000

Gramercy Pictures

Being John Malkovich Trailer & Photos

More Trailers and Videos (1)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Being John Malkovich

All Critics (122) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (115) | Rotten (9) | DVD (30)

Devilishly inventive and so far out there it's almost off the scale.

June 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
David Rooney
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This outrageous comic fantasy may not sustain its brilliance throughout its 112 minutes, but it keeps cooking for so much of that time that I don't have many complaints.

February 8, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

By the time the tunnel worthy of the likes of Gulliver and Alice becomes a freeway clogged with bit players, a big chill has descended on all the characters.

April 27, 2007 Full Review Source: New York Observer | Comments (3)
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It is hard to mix moods -- the film is manic, subtle, comic and vaguely sad -- but [Jonze] does it masterfully.

July 21, 2005 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | Comment
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's clever, witty, dark and, most importantly, unwaveringly bizarre.

November 6, 2002 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's tremendously entertaining, and probably worthy of repeat viewings.

June 18, 2002 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Time has revealed one of the best American films of the 1990s to be less a meta comedy and more a despairing satirical horror film.

May 17, 2012 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Chuck Bowen
Slant Magazine

Corollaries of desire break through dead-end walls only to be reinvented on the other side in a supernatural spectrum of practical existence. Go figure.

April 3, 2012 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

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

December 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comments (3)
Heather Boerner
Common Sense Media

The movie is so successful at being so far on the fringe, it often isolates.

July 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | Comment
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Will benefit greatly from repeat viewings and fervent post-viewing deconstruction.

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

A film that seems to make all the right choices.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | Comment
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

In just a few years, with a flurry of wildly imaginative films and three Oscar nominations, Kaufman has managed to join the likes of David Mamet, Stephen King, William Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde on the short list of screenwriting superstars.

January 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | Comment (1)
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star
—

This must be seen to be believed, a hundred carat cult item -- and all credit to Malkovich for playing along.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment
Time Out Source: Time Out

A triumph. Featuring a bizarrely original storyline, the screenplay by Charlie Kaufman is brought to the screen by Jonze in what may turn out to be one of the funniest films of the year.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comment
Chris Gore
Film Threat

A surrealistic ride into a fantasy world that is unique and never before seen.

April 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | Comment
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

...dense with ideas and non sequitur surprises, a viewer-friendly fun house of a film that asks only that we enjoy the ride. It is smart without seeming challenging...

January 2, 2005 Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | Comment
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Charlie Kaufman must be a monkey's uncle...

December 31, 2004 Full Review Source: StaciWilson.com | Comment
Staci Layne Wilson
StaciWilson.com

This is "Alice in Wonderland" for this decade; its heroes crawl down rabbit holes into a world of gender role and sexual identity conflicts.

December 6, 2004 Comment
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Being John Malkovich

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Be All That Someone Else Can BeExcellent FIlm! I enjoyed it alot! Great acting and storyline, funny, clever and insane film. Don't worry if this all sounds a little strange to you, it should do, it's probably the most surreal film ever made. Go see it!Craig, a puppeteer, takes a filing job in a low-ceilinged office in

November 28, 2008
xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
Manu Gino

Super Reviewer

Freakin weird movie. John Malkovich is always entertaining to watch and the movie has some very original plot elements but there are some big pacing issues. Nevertheless, "Being John Malkovich" is worth watching.

November 7, 2011
Albert Kim
Albert Kim

Super Reviewer

Being John Malkovich Quotes

View All

    1. Larry the Agent: John! Great to see you! Sorry about the cunt at reception.
    – Submitted by Jeff G (2 months ago)
    1. John Malkovich: It's my head, Schwartz! It's my head!
    – Submitted by Alejandro O (5 months ago)
    1. Maxine Lund: I think the world is divided into those who go after what they want and those who don't. The passionate ones, the ones who go after what they want, they may not get what they want, but at least they remain vital, you know? So when they lie on their deathbeds, they have few regrets.
    – Submitted by Tomas K (7 months ago)
    1. Craig Schwartz: I think, I feel, I suffer.
    – Submitted by Tomas K (7 months ago)
    1. Charlie Sheen: Truth is for suckers, Johnny Boy
    – Submitted by Mariana B (9 months ago)

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Latest News for Being John Malkovich

April 24, 2012:
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The "Eternal Sunshine" maestro could shepherd the studio's next tween franchise.

March 2, 2011:
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Foreign Titles

  • Dans la peau de John Malkovich (FR)
  • ¿Quieres ser John Malkovich? (ES)
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