Adaptation

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

The weirdos behind Being John Malkovich are back and stranger than ever. Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is trying to adapt a screenplay from the Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) novel, The Orchid Thief, about loopy orchid breeder John Laroche (Chris Cooper) in this movie about making a movie out of a book. Not so interesting. But Malkovich director Spike Jonze is in the mix and soon enough the story heads off into oblivion—and a more captivating premise. Kaufman writes himself into the screenplay and his life begins to mirror his script until all of the characters become intertwined in one story. Chris Cooper’s toothless, slack-jawed yokel is worthy of his own movie, and even Cage is bearable as the lonely writer—also one-upping himself as Kaufman’s cocky twin brother who hits it big with his cliché-ridden screenplays. Weird and different slowly drift into confusion before Adaptation is over, but by then, its originality will satiate your need for a sensible ending.

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