Adaptation (Superbit)

I had no idea what to expect the first time I watched this movie, but it is now one of my favotite movies. Actually after seeing this, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Being John Malkovich I have to say that Charlie Kaufman is definitely my favorite movie writer, as he writes stuff that is more original than most stuff out there, but is also very well written, and uses clever humour kind of like American Beauty.

All I can say is WOW! You never know what is going to happen. Every minute you think one thing is going to happen and then it turns and goes in a completely different direction. It's funny, sad, shocking, suspensful, happy, everything. There is no one word to describe this movie.

I did not see Being John Malkovich. It was brought to screen by Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, but I will correct that error shortly. Adaptation is a Hollywood insider movie. Like Hollywood Boulevard with Gloria Swanson and William Holden, it takes you behind the scenes. This is a fictionalization of real screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman's bizarre difficulties with adapting a novel, Susan Orlean's real book, The Orchid Thief. A fictional brother was created for Charlie. Donald is the gabby and cheerful alter ego of morose and introspective Charlie, and Cage plays both. This is a nice turn for Cage because he gets to play the twin-opposites with amazing clarity. Charlie is the screenwriter that believes originality and cerebral acrobatics are the stuff of art. His brother, the wifty, Donald is writing a screenplay too. His Hollywood screenwriting guru, Brian Cox plays Robert McKee. The guru preaches formula. But Donald's script is accepted immediately and his success with the ladies is driving his brother crazy. Charlie's writers-block over the Orchid script paralyzes not only his writing but also his ability to love. Meryl Street plays the real life author Susan Orlean. The writer becomes passionately involved with goofball horticulturalist and adventurer, John LaRouche played by Chris Cooper. LaRouche risks his life to find the perfect orchid, a Conradian theme from Heart of Darkness. But if that orchid can be ground up into powder and snorted like cocaine to produce a state of perfect passion, then can we blame the addicted Meryl Street for loving toothless LaRouche? Then there is violence, car chases, and the sex scene. This is the real Kaufman being sarcastic, playful, and err formulistic. I once heard it said that there are only 24 plots available to the writer in human experience.