Being John Malkovich poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich, Orson Bean ... see more see more... , Mary Kay Place , Charlie Sheen , Carlos Jacott , W. Earl Brown , Ned Bellamy , K.K. Dodds , Richard Fancy , Willie Garson , Kevin Lee , James Murray , Byrne Piven , Bill M. Ryusaki , Gregory Sporleder , Patti Tippo , Bill Wittman , Dan Hansen , Greg O'Neill , Neil Ross , William Nichols Buck , Kevin Carroll , Reggie Hayes , Mariah O'Brien , Octavia L. Spencer , Pamela Hayden , Gerald Emerick , David Wyler , Christine Coleman , Audrey Gelfand , Michelle Madden , Eric Weinstein , Madison Lanc , Judith Wetzell , Kelly Teacher , Jacqueline Benoit , Eddie J. Low , Yetta Ginsburg , Ralph W. Spaulding , Sylvester Jenkins , Jeanne Diehl , Roy C. Johnson , Flori Wyler , Marlowe Bassett , Kristin D'Andrea , Jessica Neuberger , Jennifer Canzoneri , Charlene Grimsley , Sara Rifkin , Kristie Cordle , Christine Krejer , Elizabeth Rivera , Denise Dabrowski , Erica Long , Chelsa Sjostrom , Yvonne Montelius , Jayne Hess , Christopher Bing

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 tempora... read more read more...ry 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 allows him to become John Malkovich for a brief spell, and in time he and his beautiful but aloof co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener) get the bright idea to charge admission for the privilege of spending 15 minutes inside the head of a well-known actor. Malkovich realizes that something strange is happening to him, but can do little to stop it, as strangers take over his mind for a quarter-hour at a time. Craig's wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), eventually takes a trip into Malkovich's psyche, and she soon finds herself in love with Maxine, with whom Malkovich has an affair; meanwhile, Maxine in time becomes infatuated with both Craig and Lotte, but only when they're inside Malkovich. Being John Malkovich marked the feature-length debut of director Spike Jonze, who previously made acclaimed music videos for Weezer, the Beastie Boys, and the Breeders, among others. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

85% liked it

227,791 ratings

Critics

92% liked it

119 critics

R, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Spike Jonze, Spike Jones, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Mary Kay Place, Orson Bean

Release Date: October 29, 1999

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: May 2, 2000

Get It:

Stats: 13,753 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Being John Malkovich Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich John Cusack in Being John Malkovich Being John Malkovich Being John Malkovich Being John Malkovich Being John Malkovich Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich Being John Malkovich Being John Malkovich Being John Malkovich Being John Malkovich Being John Malkovich
Upload a Photo | View All Being John Malkovich Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (13,753)

  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    April 16, 2012
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Be All That Someone Else Can Be

    Excellent 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, take... read mores a filing job in a low-ceilinged office in Manhattan. Although married to the slightly askew Lotte, he hits on a colleague, the sexually frank Maxine. She's bored but snaps awake when he finds a portal leading inside John Malkovich: for 15 minutes you see, hear, and feel whatever JM is doing, then you fall out by the New Jersey Turnpike. Maxine makes it commercial, selling trips for $200; also, she's more interested in Lotte than in Craig, but only when Lotte is inside JM. JM finds out what's going on and tries to stop it, but Craig sees the portal as his road to Maxine and to success as a puppeteer. Meanwhile, Lotte discovers others interested in the portal.
  • fb1463751009
    March 10, 2012
    fb1463751009
    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.
  • fb1664868775
    March 2, 2012
    fb1664868775
    A hilarious and smart film that features strange but great performances. It does seem to run out of steam though by the end.
  • fb100001592288964
    January 2, 2012
    fb100001592288964
    Boosted by Charlie Kaufman's supremely original and clever script, along with great performances and stylish direction by Spike Jonze, "Being John Malkovich" is one of the strangest, oddest yet astoundingly clever comedy I've seen in quite a long time. Could be a potential all-ti... read moreme favorite, too!
  • jamers2011
    November 6, 2011
    jamers2011
    Excellent excellent film, brilliant concept, perfect execution!
  • garyX
    November 4, 2011
    garyX
    An out of work puppeteer finds an accounting job in the 7 1/2th floor of an office building where he finds a doorway into the mind of John Malkovich in which he decides to squat in order to win the affection of a co-worker. Being John Malkovich is just strange; not Donnie Darko o... read morer Eternal Sunshine strange. Waaaay past that! It's one of those films that you're either going to love or hate because it's so "out there" it's purely a subjective matter of taste. I usually find odd ball films that are deliberately "wacky" such as this terminally irritating (yes, I'm looking at you, Anderson) but Being John Malkovich is so likeably weird and genuinely amusing I couldn't help but love it. John Malkovich shows himself to be a real sport (as does Charlie Sheen and Brad Pitt in cameos) and although I wouldn't try to read too much into it, it's an enjoyably bizarre ride into the imagination of one of the most original script writers around.
  • moonrivers
    August 27, 2011
    moonrivers
    Charles Kaufman's insightful exaggeration about the cult of celebrity, and the cult of self(fishness). Never conventional and very witty, a comedy of neuroses delivered by a cast that give their all.
  • fb57802118
    July 15, 2011
    fb57802118
    A brilliant concept without any real payoff. Instead of exploring the metaphysical problems initially proposed by John Cusack's character, the film instead dives into an extremely uninteresting melodrama between the three leads. There's no emotional anchor here. Despite that, Joh... read moren Malkovich's performance is to be commended. I just wish the other actors had more to work with.
  • fb791220692
    June 20, 2011
    fb791220692
    Being John Malkovich is a surreal, witty, and surprisingly dark tale. Though the acting performances are all great, the incredibly unique script unfortunately provides few likeable characters, and eventually becomes too strange to emit any sort of understandable message. What vie... read morewers are left with is a movie unlike any out there, but the film finds itself to be far more profound than it actually is.
  • fb535316333
    June 8, 2011
    fb535316333
    Incredible originality and "weirdness" doesn't automatically spell for good film making. There's always a constant lack of direction, what are the messages, what are the themes? Is it identity? gender roles? incompetence? love without the confines of physical attraction?

    The cha... read moreracters are so transparently played out in this bizarre tale that it often fails to connect with it's audience on any level.

View All Being John Malkovich Reviews

Critic Reviews

David Rooney
June 17, 2008
David Rooney, Variety

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

Jonathan Rosenbaum
February 8, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

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. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
April 27, 2007
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

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. Full Review

Jeff Millar
July 21, 2005
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

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

Jeff Strickler
November 6, 2002
Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune

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

Edward Guthmann
June 18, 2002
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

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

Rick Groen
March 19, 2002
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Wonderfully inventive, wickedly funny, and thoughtful enough to keep your mind on full alert, it's a square peg in the round world of genre films. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
January 1, 2000
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

The most excitingly original movie of the year. Full Review

Mike Clark
January 1, 2000
Mike Clark, USA Today

Overlong.

John Anderson
January 1, 2000
John Anderson, Newsday

Cusack and Diaz are adorable schlumps.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
    Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (88%)
  • Adaptation
    Adaptation (91%)
  • The Science of Sleep
    The Science of Sleep (93%)
  • Your Friends & Neighbors
    Your Friends & Neighbors (0%)

More Movies like Being John Malkovich

Facts

Submit a Fact | View All
    • Larry the Agent: John! Great to see you! Sorry about the cunt at reception.
    • John Malkovich: It's my head, Schwartz! It's my head!
    • 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.
    • Craig Schwartz: I think, I feel, I suffer.
    • Charlie Sheen: Truth is for suckers, Johnny Boy
    • Craig Schwartz: What happens when a man goes through his own portal?
Submit a Fact | View All

Being John Malkov... : Watch Free on TV

Being John Malkovich Trivia

  • Who played John Malkovich in "Being John Malkovich"?  Answer »
  • Class, Better Off Dead and Being John Malkovich all have which actor in common?  Answer »
  • The Ice Harvest was his Thin Red Line, Serendipity it may have been, but the Grosse Pointe Blank was an Identity away from Being John Malkovich. His High Fidelity lead to Stand By Me, you can Say Anything but he's a Sure Thing or an America's Sweetheart.  Answer »
  • In being John Malkovich, Who Plays Craig?  Answer »
More Being John Malkovich Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All Being John Malkovich Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add Being John Malkovich to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View Being John Malkovich News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

freakyfriend2001 Skin by freakyfriend2001
159 Profiles
Add to Profile

More Skins