Being John Malkovich

I suppose I can grant the film a single merit: its sheer originality. Beyond that, however, I found the work as a whole to be quite underwhelming and failed to truly resonate with me.

I have a real soft spot for unconventional cinema, which is why I found Being John Malkovich quite enjoyable. 🙂

Screw John Malkovich!
All that hype, just to be let down.

Good concept—the execution was 😵 😵 😵
Overrated, seriously overrated...

I haven't actually sat down to watch that one yet—though I fully intend to—primarily because I am completely captivated by John Malkovich... I was just watching his film "Kubrick" or something to that effect recently, and honestly, the man is nothing short of legendary. There is a certain genius to him... he’s just so fascinating and singular in his talent...🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏,I think I might have lost my mind just a little bit..

I see my old assessment still lingers here, where I once insisted that the film possessed nothing but sheer originality, yet having revisited the piece recently, I find myself forced to undergo a complete reversal of opinion. It earns a solid 8.5/10 from me now.

A bit of a weird movie.
Not even that funny, though.
Honestly, it’s more boring than anything else.
Maybe it would've actually worked if they had just fixed the script!

Anthony Kim18, you were really going off at the movies today. ☕

Seriously, this isn't spam!

Not really. You actually did a good thing here. You managed to kickstart some solid conversations...

Thanks.
I mean, people usually just comment on whatever movies are on the list anyway, regardless of what's actually playing right now.
That’s how I played it...

Anthony Kim18 said:Thanks.
I mean, people usually just comment on whatever movies are on the list anyway, regardless of what's actually playing right now.
That’s how I played it...

Doubtful. People usually watch a movie and then hunt for a thread about it, or they'll just start a new one if it doesn't exist.

To stay on topic though, I have to say this movie is actually great. Spike Jonze back in '99... what more do you need? John Cusack delivers an awesome, memorable performance, and don't even get me started on Malkovich—his roles are pretty much always like that (meaning great and memorable). A fantasy drama mixed with comedy works surprisingly well in his hands. Looking at it as something deeper, it feels pretty symbolic and poetic in its own way (not counting the dialogue, since that isn't really "poetic"). It was a really, really good experience watching it.

By the way, does anyone else feel like some of Malkovich's performances are just a little bit... I don't know, kinda gay?

Peter Morris58 said:Well, I actually met John Malkovich! ha! So where are you guys 😁

Did you happen to get inside it too? 😬

Anthony Kim18 said:Did you happen to get inside it too? 😬

He went into her. 😬

p.s. Not trying to make this a gay thing. Just if that's how you want to read it...

Jerry Martin19 said:He went into her. 😬

p.s. Not trying to make this a gay thing. Just if that's how you want to read it...

😂🤣👍

Jerry Martin19 said:He went into her. 😬

p.s. Not trying to make this a gay thing. Just if that's how you want to read it...

But what about dressing like a woman?
The makeup?
Powder?
Wigs?

Jerry Martin19 said:He went into her. 😬

p.s. Not trying to make this a gay thing. Just if that's how you want to read it...

But what about dressing like a woman?
The makeup?
The powder?
The wigs?!

Anthony Kim18 said:But what about dressing like a woman?
The makeup?
Powder?
Wigs?

Look,

Spoiler

John Malkovich stepped into a portal where you basically become him for ten minutes, which means he just entered his own reality. It's all Malkovich. The waiters are Malkovich, the ladies are Malkovich, the guys are Malkovich... even the language is Malkovich.

No matter how weird or ridiculous that scene felt (especially that bit: ''Malkovich Malkovich?'' and the response is just: ''Malkovich.'', like they're calling out Pokémon. 🙂) there's definitely a deeper meaning there. You can interpret it however you want, or let someone else tell you what it means. Better to just figure it out yourself... 🙂

So, that's just how I read it.
Like, sure, there might be a bunch of different Malkovichs, but they're all really just the same one Malkovich, right?

I watched it like Malkovich was staring at every possible version of himself. Honestly, the movie is pretty inspiring. 🙂