Picture some colorful art students in the midst of a murder mystery, and voilá, the canvas is set for John Malkovich's latest flick — "Art School Confidential."

The movie isn't quite a masterpiece, but it does have plenty of laughs and a plot that's about as lively as a Jackson Pollock drip painting.

At times, the film seems very disjointed between scenes and kind of random. The glue that holds it all together is the journey of aspiring artist Jerome — played by Max Minghella — toward art-world fame.

There are a lot of loose ends by the time the credits roll, but it's a refreshing trait since most big films these days tie up every plotline like a noose around a witch's neck.

"Art School Confidential" allows the viewer to make decisions about the strange relationship between characters without forcing morality on the viewers.

The film captures the essence of the struggles and bizarre relationships between art students while holding on to a zany, exaggerated mood.

Minghella plays the lead role of Jerome pretty straight, which allows the eccentric characters around him to shine. And what's more zany and unusual than a bunch of art students?

Ethan Suplee, who is probably best known for his role as Frankie Stechino on "Boy Meets World," plays a film student. He lives in Jerome's dorm and is filming/writing a B-horror movie about a mysterious killer strangling people on the art school campus.

And, of course, there are all the clichéd art school-types in the cast — hippie girl, preppy girl, vegan holy man, bearded weirdo and the class kiss-ass.

Malkovich is the ring leader of all these quirky art students, playing Professor Sandiford at the art college. Sandiford, on top of teaching the class in a lackluster manner, has his own problems — his artwork is lousy, and he can't seem to get along with any agents or promoters. His paintings are just triangles in very mundane colors.

Steve Buscemi ("Fargo," "The Big Lebowski") plays an angry coffee shop owner who only has the hippest artists show work at his place. And Anjelica Huston ("The Royal Tenenbaums," "The Addams Family") is an insightful and heart-warming art history professor.

Basically, the film is not going to change the world and probably won't be seen by many people because big blockbusters, such as the "Da Vinci Code" and "X-Men: The Last Stand," are waiting to push movies like this out of mainstream movie theaters.

But it's worth seeing simply to treat yourself to something outside of the norm that hasn't been rammed down your throat every commercial break during the Pistons' playoff games.

Plus, when is the last time you saw a film that took place at an art college with a crazy murderer strangling people at will?

So if you're looking for an excuse to get out of this horrible wet and chilly weather cursing East Lansing, "Art School Confidential" will be playing in Lansing until at least Thursday at Celebration Cinema, 200 E. Edgewood Blvd.