in a certain way, you can say that jonze and kaufman simply didn't allow the film to be a sprawling, mixed together narrative that was held together by thoughts. it should have been. it's kind of funny to see the film become everything kaufman doesn't want it to be, perhaps due to the influence of his brother, but it does loose that edge that has guided the film before. still, that shouldn't detract from the fact that it's an ambitious film, moreso than Being John Malkovich if for nothing more than its experiment with the way a film can be structured. malkovich is a very tight, linear film, and it serves it well, but there's something admirable about what Adaptation was trying to do.
well worth the time.
(and nicholas cage, meryl streep, and chris cooper are all quite fantastic in the film. cooper is especially good.)