December 29, 2002 -- "Adaptation" is a brilliant movie about a screenwriter so desperate to complete a screenplay that he literally writes himself into the story. His inability to make the screen adaptation of a book into a compelling story becomes a story in itself. The screenplay for "Adaptation" was written by Charlie and Donald Kaufman. Both of them are portrayed in the film by Nicholas Cage ("Windtalkers"). There has been some talk that one of these characters doesn't exist in real life or in the movie. I know the truth, but I'm not going to reveal it here.

Kaufman is trying to do an adaptation based on the book "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean. The screenplay is not working because the story has no real drama, no real conclusion. Kaufman begins to believe that there is a real conclusion to the story, but that it isn't in the book. In order to discover the real drama of this story, he is going to have to find out the truth himself, so he investigates Susan Orlean (played in the film by Meryl Streep ("Marvin's Room") and the Orchid thief himself, John Laroche (played by Chris Cooper of "American Beauty").

This results in a knockout of a screenplay, but it sets in motion a wild and scary chain of events involving snapping alligators, gunshots and car chases. The story, of course is filled with movie in jokes. One of the best parts of the story involves Charlie's brother, Donald, who is working on his own screenplay, which is filled with the kind of Hollywood clichés that Charlie hates. Donald's writing guru is Robert McKee (Brian Cox of "The Rookie"), a man who rails against screenplays that don't go anywhere (you should hear his rant on that subject) and voice over narration (used extensively in this film). This is very funny stuff. It is one of the best movie-within-a-movie films I've ever seen.

Most films about show business, like "State and Main," smack of at least a little desperation, and "Adaptation" certainly does. What makes it so much better than the usual film of this type is how it uses that desperation to its advantage, in a kind of creative jujitsu. It is complex, brilliant writing. The film also makes the heartfelt argument that love is its own reward. This humanity and character development helps the film soar above and beyond self-indulgent, narcissistic predecessors, such as "American Beauty" and "Rushmore." It is right up there with such movie industry insider classics as "The Player" and "Singing in the Rain." It also doesn't hurt to have brilliant acting performances by Cage, Cooper and Streep. This film rates an A.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.