Adaptation (2002)

Today's film is Adaptation.  Twice the Cage, Twice the fun!!

We get double the Nicolas Cages!  No matter how bad a movie is, Nicolas Cage is always entertaining.

I don't care if he's writing a screenplay or stealing the Declaration of Independence, I will totally watch that movie. And I liked how the twins had opposite personalities so Nick had to do twice the acting.

This film is actually meta because we are seeing what the twins wrote.  It's the story of them writing the story.  Charlie wrote the first half and Donald wrote the second half.  This way it feels like two different movies.  Charlie is struggling to adapt The Orchid Thief into a screenplay because it is a nonfiction book, not a novel.  What kind of story can he derive from it?  This is an exceptionally difficult task.  This part of the movie is slower but more intellectual.  (By the way, Charlie Kaufman actually did write this script and dedicates it to Donald.  But Donald is just a fictional character.)

The next half of the film, his brother takes over.  After all, he has taken a writing seminar and totally knows much more than his professional screenwriting brother.  He transforms the nonfiction book into an awesome action film.  He makes the author of the book fall in love with her subject, and together they do drugs and go after the brothers!!

I'm happy to see a film (or at least part of it) take place in Florida. There are orchids everywhere here, especially in my office.  The main class during our annual garden festival is "You too can grow orchids!"  We are serious about our orchids here, but I've never seen them used for drugs.  But that doesn't mean it's impossible.  Follow your dreams.  Also, Florida is not mostly jungle swampland as this movie would have you believe.  

This film was great and had a unique plot.  In fact it was kind of original.  I liked it.  I will give it a 7/10.