In writing a review of an earlier Kaufman film, Human Nature, critic Rod Armstrong (at reel.com) suggests that "the movie's trite ultimate point" is "that everyone should be themselves." And yet the point Kaufman's work in general is anything but the trite "be yourself." It is that there is no clear distinction between being oneself and being someone else -- that escapism is not really an escape from life as one of the constitutive aspects of it. John Cusack needs to be John Malkovich, Barris needs his fantasy, Kaufman needs his fantastic ending. And we need to go to the movies to watch it all unfold.

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Dan Friedman is a PhD candidate at Yale University.

For a full list of previous film columns, please visit the archive.

Selected Previous Film Reviews:

Eminem and Class Rage Dan Friedman
According to 8 Mile, hip hop is about class, not race
December, 2002

Everybody wants to play with a bigger train set Dan Friedman
How to be Spike Lee instead of another Clocker
October, 2002

Keep Your Eyes Peeled Dan Friedman
The limited vision of Minority Report
August, 2002

Of Spiders and Clones Dan Friedman
The personal politics of this summer's blockbusters.
June, 2002

9/11: Tony's Story Dan Friedman
CBS's packaging of the '9/11' documentary reveals exactly what America fails to understand about September 11.
April, 2002

Domestic Violence in the Global Village Dan Friedman
Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the pervasive, sinister institution of domestic violence.
March, 2002