Lovingly created by two of master director Stanley Kubrick's former assistants, this fractured homage to his psychopathic imitator serves only as a mild distraction against the more frivolous and unnecessary repetition that robs the film of it's potential charm and inherent cult status. Director Brian W. Cook and writer Anthony Frewin's obvious affinity to the iconic British filmmaker, assisting on a few of the legend's more successful shoots, presents this unique, but ultimately irrelevant comedy that in it's warped way pays homage to Kubrick by tracing some of the insane steps one Alan Conway underwent in order to continue his diluted assumption that he was in fact, the genius movie titan.
While certainly a fun enough premise that should seem increasingly apparent to film buffs, Color Me Kubrick is simply too shallow of an affair to remain anything more then an absorbed and indulgent piece of acting by our lead, the hammy John Malkovich. It is in the excess artsy-ness of Malkovich's repeated ranting and chanting that any focus the slightly disturbing concept holds falls hopelessly by the wayside of egotistical posturing with little to no redeeming psychological qualities. Instead of a fascinating, colorful character study that could have simultaneously addressed issues of alienation and identity while entertaining insider crowds with the delightful scenarios, all too quickly becomes a cheap exercise in Malkovich's continually cheapened theatrics, changing his character's persona and accent as many times as he must have thought viewers would find it clever. It is not. Instead the empty scenes often wallow in a shameless, vacant sort of charisma, masking behind this character's apparent intelligence and wit.
There are a few memorable moments, but primarily the pacing, script and performances all point in a direction that will help dismantle anything good that the movie has going for it with a heavy promotion of style over substance. Malkovich will always remain an assured performer, though as the years go by the arrogance in defining his line deliveries have become increasingly apparent, culminating in this shoddy character study.
While certainly a fun enough premise that should seem increasingly apparent to film buffs, Color Me Kubrick is simply too shallow of an affair to remain anything more then an absorbed and indulgent piece of acting by our lead, the hammy John Malkovich. It is in the excess artsy-ness of Malkovich's repeated ranting and chanting that any focus the slightly disturbing concept holds falls hopelessly by the wayside of egotistical posturing with little to no redeeming psychological qualities. Instead of a fascinating, colorful character study that could have simultaneously addressed issues of alienation and identity while entertaining insider crowds with the delightful scenarios, all too quickly becomes a cheap exercise in Malkovich's continually cheapened theatrics, changing his character's persona and accent as many times as he must have thought viewers would find it clever. It is not. Instead the empty scenes often wallow in a shameless, vacant sort of charisma, masking behind this character's apparent intelligence and wit.
There are a few memorable moments, but primarily the pacing, script and performances all point in a direction that will help dismantle anything good that the movie has going for it with a heavy promotion of style over substance. Malkovich will always remain an assured performer, though as the years go by the arrogance in defining his line deliveries have become increasingly apparent, culminating in this shoddy character study.