John Cusack stars as Craig Schwartz, a down on his luck puppeteer in New York.   His wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), is an animal lover with a chimp, dog, bird, ferret, and others living in a small apartment.  She works at a pet store and keeps trying to convince Craig to get a job instead of pandering on the streets of NYC and being punched out by angry fathers as their daughters watch him perform his rendition of the medieval story of Abelard and Heloise (especially funny if you just studied them as I did).   After searching through the papers, day after day for openings for a puppeteer, he finally takes a job in a small company filing folders (his nimble fingers sort through the folders and papers very fast, a technique gained from his puppeteering).  He finds out that this particular company is on the 7 1/2 floor (explained quite humorously in the movie).  The ceilings are low and so is the rent, as explained by having "low overhead."  Here he meets the woman of his dreams, Maxine who also works on the 7 1/2 floor.  He keeps trying to ask her out after being repeatedly turned down.   While working at his job, Craig finds a long dark hallway.  Being curious, he climbs down it and finds it leads into John Malkovich.  For 15 minutes, he can see through John's eyes, hear what John hears and sense what John senses.  After the brief 15 minutes, he is inexplicably dumped on the side of the New Jersey turnpike.   Craig and Maxine start to sell for $200 a pop, 15 minutes inside of John Malkovich and they can't accommodate all the people who want to try, including Craig's wife Maxine who once inside John Malkovich, has serious questions about her sexuality.

Everything about this movie is original and fun to watch.  I didn't think it was possible, but Cameron Diaz is actually unattractive, especially when beside the stunning Catherine Keener (Maxine).  The script is funny and provides laughs throughout.   John Cusack is especially good in this movie.  His trials and tribulations and pathetic-ness really come through as he tries to pick up Maxine with some great lines involving puppeteering.  'Being John Malkovich' is a great film and definitely should not be missed.  It has garnered many accolades from both critics and audiences alike.   Wouldn't it be nice if this movie were a sign of things to come, because it would most certainly be great if there were more original scripts with great acting coming out of Hollywood.

If nothing else, see this movie to find out what happens when John Malkovich goes through the portal into his own mind.