History Film / Adaptation

This only begins to touch upon the {{postmodern}} head trip that is ''Adaptation.'' This film functions both as a surprisingly effective film version of Orlean's book, with Creator/MerylStreep as Orlean and Creator/ChrisCooper as [=LaRoche=] (for which he won the 2002 Best Supporting Actor Oscar), retaining as much as possible the botanical and historical treatises on orchids; and as a layered deconstruction of the creative process, with neurotic intellectual Charlie (Creator/NicolasCage) and his tortured quest to write a movie where nothing happens, "like in real life", conflicting with his free-spirited twin Donald (oh yeah, Charlie Kaufman gave himself a twin brother [[ActingForTwo also played by]] Creator/NicolasCage) who has written a trashy thriller full of car chases and murders - the exact kind of movie Charlie hates. But it's also increasingly the movie he's in after a meeting with screenwriting mentor [[Literature/{{Story}} Robert [=McKee=]]] (Creator/BrianCox) inspires him to move the story steadily further away from reality.

This only begins to touch upon the {{postmodern}} head trip that is ''Adaptation''. This film functions both as a surprisingly effective film version of Orlean's book, with Creator/MerylStreep as Orlean and Creator/ChrisCooper as [=LaRoche=] (for which he won the 2002 Best Supporting Actor Oscar), retaining as much as possible the botanical and historical treatises on orchids; and as a layered deconstruction of the creative process, with neurotic intellectual Charlie (Creator/NicolasCage) and his tortured quest to write a movie where nothing happens, "like in real life", conflicting with his free-spirited twin Donald (oh yeah, Charlie Kaufman gave himself a twin brother [[ActingForTwo also played by]] Creator/NicolasCage) who has written a trashy thriller full of car chases and murders - the exact kind of movie Charlie hates. But it's also increasingly the movie he's in after a meeting with screenwriting mentor [[Literature/{{Story}} Robert [=McKee=]]] (Creator/BrianCox) inspires him to move the story steadily further away from reality.

This article is about the movie titled ''Adaptation''. For adaptation-related tropes, see DerivativeWorks.

* TheCameo: Creator/JohnMalkovich appears as himself on the set of ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'' (Kaufman's previous movie where Malkovich played himself), along with several other cast members.

** To a lesser extent, screenwriting "guru" Robert [=McKee=] is portrayed as an over-the-top dictorial egomaniac who shouts and swears at the people in his seminar, especially if they ask what he considers stupid questions, and viciously rips into any trope he considers to be tripe or cliche and the writers who write them (that part isn't necessarily fictional, mind). They had to get the real [=McKee's=] permission to put him in the script, of course, and he had no problems with the portrayal (in fact he even suggested Brian Cox for the part) after seeing the movie, especially since Kaufman is if anything even harder on himself. He does think the movie simplified what he actually teaches, but also doesn't mind that as it suited the story.

* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: Charlies asks Robert [=McKee=] for advice on a screenplay where nothing happens. [=McKee=] ''epically'' shoots him down:

* RealityIsUnrealistic: The crux of the above speech from McKee is that wildly dramatic and seemingly unrealistic things happen in the “real world” every day, and that realism shouldn’t have to be boring.

* AdaptationDecay: Charlie's inability to adapt Orlean's story. The movie is unique in being ''about'' its own adaptation decay..

* InnerMonologue: Which disappears the moment Robert [=McKee=] says it's hackneyed.

This only begins to touch upon the {{postmodern}} head trip that is ''Adaptation''. This film functions both as a surprisingly effective film version of Orlean's book, with Creator/MerylStreep as Orlean and Chris Cooper as [=LaRoche=] (for which he won the 2002 Best Supporting Actor Oscar), retaining as much as possible the botanical and historical treatises on orchids; and as a layered deconstruction of the creative process, with neurotic intellectual Charlie (Creator/NicolasCage) and his tortured quest to write a movie where nothing happens, "like in real life", conflicting with his free-spirited twin Donald (oh yeah, Charlie Kaufman gave himself a twin brother [[ActingForTwo also played by]] Creator/NicolasCage) who has written a trashy thriller full of car chases and murders - the exact kind of movie Charlie hates. But it's also increasingly the movie he's in after a meeting with screenwriting mentor [[Literature/{{Story}} Robert [=McKee=]]] (Creator/BrianCox) inspires him to move the story steadily further away from reality.

* DeconReconSwitch: For movie clichés. Turns out even trying to make a script/film "about nothing" requires a NecessaryWeasel. [=McKee=]'s TheReasonYouSuckSpeech at Donald even lampshades how RealityIsUnrealistic.

* DeconReconSwitch: For movie clichés.

Screenwriter Creator/CharlieKaufman, fresh off the success of ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'', had a problem. He'd been hired to adapt the Susan Orlean book ''The Orchid Thief'', about her experiences with rare flower hunter John [=LaRoche=], into a film, only to find out it had no real story and was mostly about flowers. Going out of his mind with writer's block, he eventually went off the deep end and wrote a screenplay beginning with:

-> Screenwriter Creator/CharlieKaufman, fresh off the success of ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'', has a problem...

* IndecisiveDeconstruction: The movie is this on purpose. First, it explicitly states all the tropes it's not going to use, and in the second half it gleefully goes all out in using them. Not [[DoingItForTheArt for the art]], but as a commentary about ExecutiveMeddling.

This only begins to touch upon the {{postmodern}} head trip that is ''Adaptation''. This film functions both as a surprisingly effective film version of Orlean's book, with Creator/MerylStreep as Orlean and Chris Cooper as [=LaRoche=] (for which he won the 2002 Best Supporting Actor Oscar), retaining as much as possible the botanical and historical treatises on orchids; and as a layered deconstruction of the creative process, with neurotic intellectual Charlie (Creator/NicolasCage) and his tortured quest to write a movie where nothing happens, "like in real life", conflicting with his free-spirited twin Donald (oh yeah, Charlie Kaufman gave himself a twin brother [[ActingForTwo also played by]] Creator/NicolasCage) who has written a trashy thriller full of car chases and murders - the exact kind of movie Charlie hates. But it's also increasingly the movie he's in after a meeting with screenwriting mentor [[Literature/{{Story}} Robert [=McKee=]]] inspires him to move the story steadily further away from reality.

** To a lesser extent, screenwriting "guru" Robert [=McKee=] (played by Brian Cox) is portrayed as an over-the-top dictorial egomaniac who shouts and swears at the people in his seminar, especially if they ask what he considers stupid questions, and viciously rips into any trope he considers to be tripe or cliche and the writers who write them (that part isn't necessarily fictional, mind). They had to get the real [=McKee's=] permission to put him in the script, of course, and he had no problems with the portrayal (in fact he even suggested Cox for the part) after seeing the movie, especially since Kaufman is if anything even harder on himself. He does think the movie simplified what he actually teaches, but also doesn't mind that as it suited the story.

* SurpriseCarCrash: Chris Cooper's character retells the story of how he lost his front teeth. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfn0QVwZE-A The flashback shows]] him in the process of backing out of the driveway when his station wagon is hit by a truck. His parents in the backseat are instantly dead.

* HowIWroteThisArticleArticle: In movie form It's a film telling the story of adapting a book into the screenplay of what eventually becomes the film you're watching.

** It must be noted that in real life, Robery [=McKee=] says he allows voice over "[[TakeThat despite what Charlie Kaufman tells you]]" as long as it does more than simply describe what's happening on the screen.

* MultiGenderedSplitPersonalities: An in-universe example, in which Donald's inane psychological thriller screenplay ''[=The Thr3e=]'' ends with the reveal that the cop protagonist, the killer he is chasing after and the female victim the cop falls in love with are all the same person. Donald chooses to [[TheyJustDidntCare cheerfully ignore]] all of the FridgeLogic and plot holes created by this plot twist.

* MultiGenderedSplitPersonalities: An in-universe example, in which Donald's inane psychological thriller screenplay ''The Thr3e'' ends with the reveal that the cop protagonist, the killer he is chasing after and the female victim the cop falls in love with are all the same person. Donald chooses to [[TheyJustDidntCare cheerfully ignore]] all of the FridgeLogic and plot holes created by this plot twist.

Screenwriter Creator/CharlieKaufman, fresh off the success of ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'', had a problem. He'd been hired to adapt the Susan Orlean book ''The Orchid Thief'', about her experiences with rare flower hunter John Laroche, into a film, only to find out it had no real story and was mostly about flowers. Going out of his mind with writer's block, he eventually went off the deep end and wrote a screenplay beginning with:

This only begins to touch upon the {{postmodern}} head trip that is ''Adaptation''. This film functions both as a surprisingly effective film version of Orlean's book, with Creator/MerylStreep as Orlean and Chris Cooper as Laroche (for which he won the 2002 Best Supporting Actor Oscar), retaining as much as possible the botanical and historical treatises on orchids; and as a layered deconstruction of the creative process, with neurotic intellectual Charlie (Creator/NicolasCage) and his tortured quest to write a movie where nothing happens, "like in real life", conflicting with his free-spirited twin Donald (oh yeah, Charlie Kaufman gave himself a twin brother [[ActingForTwo also played by]] Creator/NicolasCage) who has written a trashy thriller full of car chases and murders - the exact kind of movie Charlie hates. But it's also increasingly the movie he's in after a meeting with screenwriting mentor [[Literature/{{Story}} Robert [=McKee=]]] inspires him to move the story steadily further away from reality.

* ChekhovsGun [[spoiler: The montage at the beginning showed two alligators in the swamp where Laroche is stealing orchids with the natives. They would later show up in the climax to save Charlie and Donald from Laroche.]]

* DeusExMachina: Discussed and defied. Charlie and Donald are saved from Orlean and Laroche by [[spoiler: alligators appearing and attacking Laroche]]. However, this use is really a late-hung ChekhovsGun as just before the third act where everything gets weird, Charlie is told by screenwriting guru Robert [=McKee=] that DeusExMachina is lazy writing.

* FantasticDrug: Susan and Laroche are apparently hooked on a drug made from the Ghost Orchids.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Susan Orlean and John Laroche are both real people and the movie does function as an [[TitleDrop adaptation]] of Orleans' book ''The Orchid Thief''...up until about the 3rd act, where [[spoiler: Orlean and Laroche are "revealed" to have actually gone on to form a relationship, become drug addicts (and implied drug dealers), and then try and murder the Kaufman brothers to cover up the fact. Also presumably applies to the Native Americans who 3rd act Laroche is shown to have caught also snorting the orchid drug.]] The real Susan Orlean apparently was shocked at the direction they wanted to take the script, but relented and now loves the movie.

* LovableRogue: Laroche. The fictional version of him, at least. The real one actually organized that poaching operation to draw the authorities' attention to the legal loophole.

* TitleDrop: In Laroche's speech about evolution

-> Screenwriter Creator/CharlieKaufman, fresh off the success of ''BeingJohnMalkovich'', has a problem...

* TheCameo: Creator/JohnMalkovich appears as himself on the set of ''BeingJohnMalkovich'' (Kaufman's previous movie where Malkovich played himself), along with several other cast members.

--> Screenwriter Creator/CharlieKaufman, fresh off the success of ''BeingJohnMalkovich'', has a problem...

* OpeningNarration: The film opens with a black screen and Donald talking about his loser life for 90 seconds.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Susan Orlean and John Laroche are both real people and the movie does function as an [[TitleDrop adaptation]] of Orleans' book ''The Orchid Thief''...up until about the 3rd act, where [[spoiler: Orlean and Laroche are "revealed" to have actually gone on to form a relationship, become drug addicts (and implied drug dealers), and then try and murder the Kaufman brothers to cover up the fact. Also presumably applies to the Native Americans who 3rd act Laroche is shown to have caught also snorting the orchid drug.]] The real Susan Orlean apparently was shocked at the direction they wanted to take the script, but relented and now loves the movie.
** To a lesser extent, screenwriting "guru" Robert [=McKee=] (played by Brian Cox) is portrayed as an over-the-top dictorial egomaniac who shouts and swears at the people in his seminar, especially if they ask what he considers stupid questions, and viciously rips into any trope he considers to be tripe or cliche and the writers who write them (that part isn't necessarily fictional, mind). They had to get the real [=McKee's=] permission to put him in the script, of course, and he had no problems with the portrayal after seeing the movie, especially since Kaufman is if anything even harder on himself.

** Well, maybe [[CoenBrothers Roderick Jayne]].