STRANGER THAN FICTION (2006)

STRANGER THAN FICTION (2006)

Tagline:  He's not crazy. He's just written that way.

(Comedy, Drama, Fantasy) [PG-13]

I’ve written papers on little did he know, I’ve taught classes on little did he know. 

This movie has one of the more unique plots of any movie out there it might be loosely based on a Spanish novel. It revolves around a man named Harold Crick (played by Will Ferrell) and his watch. He’s got an ultra-strict routine and is massively quick at calculating things. It doesn’t take long before he notices that someone is narrating his life just after he does a lot of what he does. At some point, the narrator tells Harold that he is going to die soon, so naturally, he starts to take steps to investigate who the narrator might be and how to prevent his death. As his investigation continues he begins to fall for Ana Pascal whom he is auditing via his job at the I.R.S.

This movie is probably supposed to be a lot deeper than I am picking up, but overall it’s a really roundabout way of celebrating taking chances and living life. While the film contains a ton of literary terms and dialog is driven by literary concepts, such as comedy and tragedy, character possibilities, etc. the main thrust of the movie is  Harold discovering you have to take risks in order to live fully. I personally identify with a lot of this movie being both super analytical for my job and super creative in several ways in my personal life. I also really love the bits of dry humor and comedic elements of this film that give it more depth than most dramas. The movie also explores elements of kindness, romance, depression, and progress all in its just under 2 hour run time. 

Acting-wise this is probably Ferrell’s best performance that I know of. Probably best known for ANCHORMAN this character being played so straightforward is akin to Ben Stiller taking on THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY. It’s really cool seeing him in a role like this. Ana Pascal (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) is an extremely likable character in this thing as well. She’s frustrated with Crick but slowly opens up to him over the course of his audit. I haven’t seen a ton of Maggie Gyllenhaal flicks but this is a lot stronger role for her than say Rachel was in THE DARK KNIGHT. Queen Latifah is pretty good in this as is Emma Thompson who plays Karen Eiffel. The only character I end up not being crazy about is Professor Jules Hilbert, but Dustin Hoffman was probably a great choice for the role. 

Tidbits – This is the second movie I know of where a building gets demolished in a wrecking crew type situation. The other one is I, ROBOT. Apparently, Emma Thompson didn’t bother putting on makeup for any time while she was shooting the movie. I guess the idea was to help her look more like a stressed-out writer struggling to get her next book out on time. 

Overall I really have a deep love for this movie. It’s one of the movies that would be on my “comfort” list if I ever were to make such a list. Its awkward intricacies are endearing and done in such a way that is both inviting and concerning. The movie does a fantastic job of getting you to really care about what happens to Harold all while suggesting it's possible none of what we are seeing on screen is even happening in the real world inside the movie. This whole setup is incredibly intriguing and the movie isn’t burdened with so much seriousness that it lacks being any fun. It’s a lot of fun. 

I give this movie a 7 out of 7. It’s not in my gorillas on the loose fighting giant lizards and space aliens coming out of the ground playing 80’s rock during a unicorn invasion wheelhouse, but it’s a really well-written and well thought out film with timeless ideas and concepts.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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