Adaptation

Director: Spike Jonze

2002

Funny, quirky, and disturbing. Adaptation is about the screen play writer Charlie Kaufman as he tries to adapt the book "The Orchid Thief" into a movie.

This movie was a recommendation from a class I took, and I'm glad I watched it. I enjoy how the movie has these moments of humor and quirk. Such as when the main character, Charlie goes to a seminar about writing screen plays where it is announced that having a voice over narration is weak. Right before that statement the character Charlie is talking to himself in a voiced over narration about how he can not believe he came to this seminar. It was a very funny moment.

Other quirky moments were the dates he was on, particularly with the violinist, Amelia Kavan, where he would narrate to himself to say something. Another moment was when he was sweating while trying to impress the executive, Valerie Thomas, to give him another screenplay to write.

The Second plot in the movie was following Susan Orlean and her interview with John Laroche. Watching their relationship progress and getting to know their characters was great. Susan was dull and I never liked her character. Her greatest moment of utter weakness was in the end. John Laroche was interesting as he at first seemed like a stereotype of a dumb hick, and then you find that he becomes obsessed with things and learns about them in his obsession. He was a sad character, just pushing through life trying to catch a break. Susan became his break and his end.

You really felt like you were following Charlie around as he tried to write this adapted screen play. The ending was a twist and unexpected and did take me out of Charlie's real world and into the fantasy Hollywood universe. Which makes sense, since in the movie Charlie is 1) Charlie writing a Screenplay for a movie 2) The movie he is writing is playing out for us at the same time 3) Those two worlds come together in the end. Clever, and fun.