Being John Malkovich Reviews

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

Full Review | Original Score: C+

Overlong.

Loses momentum tacking on countless plot twists that, while unpredictable, are tiresome and obnoxious.

Full Review | Original Score: short

Gender and relationships shift and merge and re-form like blobs of goo in a lava lamp… a profoundly anti-human fantasy.

Full Review | Original Score: F

It's not a horrible movie. It just gets so confusing that you should rent it, so you can rewind and figure out what is going on.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Descends disappointingly from hilarious whimsy into bleak, repellant, Outer Limits - tinged dysfunction.

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We get self-absorbed characters seeking personal happiness, no matter how it may affect others, especially Malkovich.

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The filmmakers are stoned on weirdness for its own sake, which is the danger of becoming too enthralled by the freewheeling ethos of the '60s.

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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.

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Full Review | Original Score: A

...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...

Full Review | Original Score: A

Either Being John Malkovich gets nominated for best picture, or the members of the Academy need portals into their brains.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4

Unlike most comedies, which go for laughs without worrying about depth, Being John Malkovich has both.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4

Being John Malkovich is one head-trip of a comedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5

Disturbingly smart and joyously weird. A true original.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5

An audacious comedy that starts strange, keeps getting stranger, then hits an idea so weird that it takes the rest of the film to explore only some of the many ramifications.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10

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

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5

[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.

Full Review | Original Score: A+

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

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Chances are you'll never see another movie like Being John Malkovich, so make sure you don't miss out.

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

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