Being John Malkovich (1999)
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Reviews Counted: 121
Fresh: 112 | Rotten: 9
Being John Malkovich is both funny and smart, featuring a highly original script.
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.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 227,791
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
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Cast
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John Cusack
Craig Schwartz -
Cameron Diaz
Lotte Schwartz -
Catherine Keener
Maxine Lund -
John Malkovich
John Malkovich -
Orson Bean
Dr. Lester -
Mary Kay Place
Floris -
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen -
Carlos Jacott
Larry the Agent -
W. Earl Brown
Erroll -
Ned Bellamy
Derek Mantini -
K.K. Dodds
Wendy -
Richard Fancy
Johnson Heyward -
Willie Garson
Guy In Restaurant -
Kevin Lee
Ballet Dancer -
James Murray
Student Puppeteer -
Byrne Piven
Captain Mertin -
Bill M. Ryusaki
Mr. Hiroshi -
Gregory Sporleder
Drunk At Bar -
Patti Tippo
John Malovich's Mother -
Bill Wittman
Featured Character Voic... -
Dan Hansen
Boy John Malkovich -
Greg O'Neill
Featured Character Voic... -
Neil Ross
Featured Character Voic... -
William Nichols Buck
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Kevin Carroll
Cab Driver -
Reggie Hayes
Don -
Mariah O'Brien
Girl Creeped Out By Joh... -
Octavia L. Spencer
Woman In Elevator -
Pamela Hayden
Featured Character Voic... -
Gerald Emerick
Sad Man In Line -
David Wyler
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Christine Coleman
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Audrey Gelfand
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Michelle Madden
Featured Character Voic... -
Eric Weinstein
Father at Puppet Show -
Madison Lanc
Daugher at Puppet Show -
Judith Wetzell
Tiny Woman -
Kelly Teacher
Emily -
Jacqueline Benoit
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Eddie J. Low
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Yetta Ginsburg
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Ralph W. Spaulding
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Sylvester Jenkins
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Jeanne Diehl
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Roy C. Johnson
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Flori Wyler
Doctor Lester's Friend -
Marlowe Bassett
Ballet Dancer -
Kristin D'Andrea
Ballet Dancer -
Jessica Neuberger
Ballet Dancer -
Jennifer Canzoneri
Ballet Dancer -
Charlene Grimsley
Ballet Dancer -
Sara Rifkin
Ballet Dancer -
Kristie Cordle
Ballet Dancer -
Christine Krejer
Ballet Dancer -
Elizabeth Rivera
Ballet Dancer -
Denise Dabrowski
Ballet Dancer -
Erica Long
Ballet Dancer -
Chelsa Sjostrom
Ballet Dancer -
Yvonne Montelius
Ballet Dancer -
Jayne Hess
Featured Character Voic... -
Christopher Bing
Himself [uncredited]
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All Critics (125) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (112) | Rotten (9) | DVD (32)
Devilishly inventive and so far out there it's almost off the scale.
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.
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.
This must be seen to be believed, a hundred carat cult item -- and all credit to Malkovich for playing along.
Top CriticIt is hard to mix moods -- the film is manic, subtle, comic and vaguely sad -- but [Jonze] does it masterfully.
It's clever, witty, dark and, most importantly, unwaveringly bizarre.
an essential existentialist text.
Playing by its own rules every step of the way, Being John Malkovich is clearly the sort of movie that needs to be made more often.
[VIDEO ESSAY] 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.
Kids won't get this sex-driven, head-trip comedy.
The movie is so successful at being so far on the fringe, it often isolates.
Will benefit greatly from repeat viewings and fervent post-viewing deconstruction.
A film that seems to make all the right choices.
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.
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.
A surrealistic ride into a fantasy world that is unique and never before seen.
...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...
Charlie Kaufman must be a monkey's uncle...
This is "Alice in Wonderland" for this decade; its heroes crawl down rabbit holes into a world of gender role and sexual identity conflicts.
No one will accuse music-video director Spike Jonze of making his feature-film debut with a boring, conventional movie.
Premises don't come packaged more cleverly than this one. Stellar cast, eclectic story and a peculiar concept render this an imaginative albeit uneven two hours of unusual movie entertainment.
I highly recommend being John Malkovich. And if you can't do it, at least see the film.
Audience Reviews for Being John Malkovich
Super Reviewer
Spike Jonze's wittily-written, incredibly acted comedy drama about a disgruntled but ambitious puppeteer who to his amazement finds a peculiar, mystical portal into the mind of John Malkovich, is a brilliantly surreal and mind boggling experience. It's profoundly original dream-like narrative exploring humanities selfishness and one's desire to be something else makes it consitently entertaining and builds up to an utterly unforgettable cinematic experience. Charlie Kaufman's clever yet non self-indulgent script creates some very awkward but hilarious situations for the characters and flawlessly disguises the insane fableness and fantasy of the story and it's characters infinitely believable. He went on to work with director Michel Gondry and wrote his masterpiece; Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, which I think is one of the best films ever made. He is arguably one of the most talneted art-house writers out there today and although he makes very few films the one's that he does work on are always brilliant. In the interesting case of Being John Malkovich, performance-wise it is perfect, Cameron Diaz and John Cusack advertise some fantastic chemistry, but the greatest stand-out is easily John Malkovich who is just perfect and undeniably engaging at being/playing John Malkovich. Catherine Keener is also great as the bitterly inhuman anti-hero, and Jonze's outstanding direction nails the film as a landmark. I think it's one of the best directorial debuts of all time, and if your not laughing at it, or being moved by it, you'll certainly be admiring it. It's a strange and emotionally detatching screen presence but in my opinion it's one of the best of it's kind. Endlessly fascinating and completely extraordinary.
Super Reviewer
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- Larry the Agent: John! Great to see you! Sorry about the cunt at reception.
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- John Malkovich: It's my head, Schwartz! It's my head!
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- 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.
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- Craig Schwartz: I think, I feel, I suffer.
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- Charlie Sheen: Truth is for suckers, Johnny Boy
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- Craig Schwartz: What happens when a man goes through his own portal?
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April 24, 2012:
Charlie Kaufman Will Adapt Chaos Walking for LionsgateThe "Eternal Sunshine" maestro could shepherd the studio's next tween franchise.
March 2, 2011:
Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze Pitch Untitled Satire Project"Adaptation" and "Being John Malkovich" partners Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze are ready to...
December 7, 2009:
Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things AreIt has taken Being John Malkovich and Adaptation director Spike Jonze more than five years to bring...
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Featured
Movie: ID: 14414 Title: Being John Malkovich Release Date: 1999-10-29 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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Foreign Titles
- Dans la peau de John Malkovich (FR)
- ¿Quieres ser John Malkovich? (ES)
