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ADAPTATION by Tom McCurrie
The year 2002 comes to a close as one of the worst in recent memory for American cinema, especially for screenplays. The lamest of the bunch had to be that triumvirate of turkeys COLLATERAL DAMAGE, REIGN OF FIRE and BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER. If you had the misfortune to see these flicks one right after the other, you would most certainly have needed treatment for botulism of the eyes.
But all was not lost. Like the last-minute defeat of the Orcs at Helm's Deep (I just had to throw in a reference to THE TWO TOWERS, which I liked very much) a few top-notch screenplays arrived in theatres to save the day. And since this is the time of year for "Best Of" lists, I'd like to give you my pick for Best Screenplay of 2002: ADAPTATION, written by Charlie Kaufman (and his fictitious twin brother Donald).
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead!)
Why is ADAPTATION my pick for Best Screenplay? Because it's about screenwriting, of course! It's just plain exhilarating to see Hollywood's misuse of writers so wittily satirized.
For instance, we open with the nebbishy, self-loathing Charlie Kaufman (well-limned by Nicolas Cage) dismissively treated by the cast and crew of BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, even though it's Charlie's astonishingly imaginative script that makes the movie so memorable. Compare that to Charlie's garrulous twin brother Donald (also played to the hilt by Cage), who after penning the formulaic serial-killer opus THE THREE immediately earns a six-figure payday and becomes the hottest scribe in town!
ADAPTATION also skewers the Industry's development mill. The powers-that-be want Charlie to adapt Susan Orlean's THE ORCHID THIEF into a screenplay. Never mind that the book is a series of narrative digressions and interior monologues that can never be adequately dramatized. Hollywood loves to buy whatever's "hot," and THE ORCHID THIEF is definitely that. So Charlie almost has a nervous breakdown trying to adapt it!
But ADAPTATION is more than just a poison pen letter to Hollywood. It's a highly original work in its own right. When screenwriting guru Robert McKee (played with larger-than-life brio by Brian Cox) tells Charlie a weak script can be saved by a thrilling climax, ADAPTATION literally takes him to heart. Up until this point, the script is about Charlie's inability to adapt THE ORCHID THIEF, as well as his inability to woo a fetching Brit. Neither of these plots is visually exciting. So ADAPTATION follows McKee's advice and radically switches gears. Charlie soon finds himself shin-deep in the Florida Everglades, chased by Orlean (Meryl Streep) and John Laroche (Chris Cooper) after he discovers their affair. Now we have our rousing action climax, just like McKee wanted! ADAPTATION adroitly invents itself as it goes along, giving the story a sense of unpredictability, and excitement, not seen in any movie this year.
Of course, inventiveness only gets you so far. Without some emotional pull beneath the cleverness, the audience will soon lose interest in your story. ADAPTATION has that pull, making it more affecting than the chillier BEING JOHN MALKOVICH. For ADAPTATION isn't just about adapting books, it's about adapting to life, with all its curveballs and disappointments. Like John Laroche, who loses his family in a tragic accident, but learns to channel his grief into orchid hunts. We not only relate to this, we're touched by it. As is Charlie himself, who follows Laroche's example and adapts to the vagaries of life by coming to an essential understanding: giving love is more important than receiving it. This revelation allows him to move on and leave his self-imposed misery behind.
Witty and inventive, universal and heart-warming, ADAPTATION is the Best Screenplay of 2002.
But that's just my humble opinion. E-mail me your pick for Best (and Worst) Screenplay of 2002 and I'll post the top vote-getters in the next newsletter. And remember, make sure to remove those chads, heh, heh!
Responses, comments and general two-cents worth can be E-mailed to gillis662000@yahoo.com.
A graduate of USC's School of Cinema-Television, Tom McCurrie has worked as a development executive and a story analyst. He is currently a screenwriter living in Los Angeles.
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