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Is "Being John Malkovich" just as good if I haven't seen that many of his movies

  • Thread starter Deleted member 31817
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Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
🤔

I'm sure it's good either way but like the only Malkovich movies I've seen are Burn After Reading , Johnny English (lol), Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Eragon (lol) and all of those are after 1999

Are there a ton of references to his other stuff or not really
 
Rellodex

Rellodex

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,160
yeah a pretty good movie that sort of heralded the mid-2000s post-ironic-detachment indie wave.

Basically all the context that is required is that he is a famous actor.
 
sredgrin

sredgrin

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,276
All that matters is he is a somewhat known actor.
 
Shantae

Shantae

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Banned
Feb 15, 2019
852
How can you not know who he is before seeing this movie?? At least watch Con Air! That's all you need to know.
 

jdmc13

Member
Mar 14, 2019
2,885
Was the first John Malkovich movie I saw. It's still one of my favorite movies of all time. Thought he was just a character made up for the movie when I first saw it.
 
Joliet Jake

Joliet Jake

Member
Oct 27, 2017
938
Charlie Kaufman is one of the greatest, most original, screenwriters ever. So you should definitely watch it.
 
skeezx

skeezx

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,120
the less familiar you are with john malkovich the more the movie "works" imo

it's the joke, he's just some random character actor. It's not "being al pacino" or "being tom cruise" or hell even "being scott baio" would miss the point
 
Nostremitus

Nostremitus

Member
Nov 15, 2017
7,772
Alabama
Yes, absolutely. Not knowing who he is was kind of the point. He was just one of those character actors who showed up in a bunch of movies, arguably "Being John Malkovich" is why most people even know or remember his name. Not that he's not a great actor, but there are to ton of great actors who aren't household names.
 
Lord Fanny

Lord Fanny

Banned
Apr 25, 2020
25,953
It's fine. You don't even really need to know he's a real person for the plot to work since it's established early he's an actor. I can't remember where the story is, but when John Malkovich read the script he said he thought it was a joke and when his agent told him it was real he was horrified that someone would write something like this and kind of freaked out lmao. Kaufman was kind of unknown at the time and I think Jonze was only known as a music video director afaik, so it's kind of amazing that it happened at all lol.
 
Trisc

Trisc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,485
Make sure to play Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Exo Zombies in its totality first. That gives you the context you need.
 
Cogg

Cogg

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,153
Yup. Please watch it, its bonkers and incredible in all the right ways
 
Artdayne

Artdayne

Banned
Nov 7, 2017
5,015
It's Charlie Kaufman's writing nearly at it's best, yes you can still enjoy the movie without being that familiar with John Malkovich.
 
caliph95

caliph95

Member
Oct 25, 2017
35,147
When i watched the movie i seen some movies he's in

It works as long as you know he's a famous actor
 
War Eagle

War Eagle

Member
Oct 27, 2017
739
USA
I didn't know anything about the movie and I wasn't too familiar with him as an actor when I saw it for the first time. Definitely one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen. Definitely also recommend though!
 
Fantastical

Fantastical

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,361
When I watched this movie in high school, I didn't even realize that he was playing himself or that John Malkovich was a real person at all. Still liked it.
 
Strings

Strings

Member
Oct 27, 2017
31,377
It doesn't really work without seeing the jewel thief movie he was great in.

For real though, I imagine OP is going to be shocked at how different their conception of the film and what it actually is are. It's way more John Cusack and Catherine Keener's movie.
 
grand

grand

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,899
You literally don't need to know anything other than his name. The movie isn't really about him
 
Teenage Fansub

Teenage Fansub

Member
May 24, 2019
22,178
The point is just that he's an acclaimed real world actor. You don't really need more than that.

edit: And watch Con Air already!
 
Grug

Grug

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,644
God it would have been hilarious/fascinating to be in the room when Kaufman/Jonze pitched this film to John Malkovich.
 
Calabi

Calabi

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,483
Lord Fanny said:
It's fine. You don't even really need to know he's a real person for the plot to work since it's established early he's an actor. I can't remember where the story is, but when John Malkovich read the script he said he thought it was a joke and when his agent told him it was real he was horrified that someone would write something like this and kind of freaked out lmao. Kaufman was kind of unknown at the time and I think Jonze was only known as a music video director afaik, so it's kind of amazing that it happened at all lol.
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I feel that's a completely appropriate reaction, why did he even agree. The film is one of the weirdest I've seen.
 
ThereAreFourNaan

ThereAreFourNaan

Member
Nov 8, 2017
13,086
I watched it with a bunch of people who thought he was made up for the movie and they still loved it. Was wild when I told them lol.
 
liquidmetal14

liquidmetal14

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,094
Florida
Now I'll have to rewatch. I remember when it came out and knew who he was from Of Nice and Men. Interestingly enough I've watched both RED movies the last few days and enjoyed his performance in those.
 
Muu

Muu

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
1,961
I watched this and High Fidelity at about the same time and that was awkward.
 
hateradio

hateradio

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,733
welcome, nowhere
Psychoward said:
Just saw it, loved it
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It's such a good movie.
 
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