Stranger Than Fiction (PG-13)
Mike:
Scott:
Scott: Tonight we are reviewing Stranger than Fiction
, a movie starring Will Ferrell as Harold Crick, a man who finds himself the main character in a novel. Not only that, he can hear his life being narrated by the author of that novel.
What did you think Mike?
Mike: I liked it. It’s a nice quirky comedy. It reminded me of Being John Malkovich, but not nearly as strange as that. Either way, it’s a great premise.
What did you think?
Scott: I really liked the movie. I thought the premise was great and original. I was glad the movie didn't ruin that idea. Watching this I thought about Click and how they took a good idea and killed it. This movie really let the premise ride and let it move around on it's own without trying to force it.
Mike: I was afraid that after seeing the preview 50 times, that we had seen the whole movie. Luckily, most of scenes in the trailer are used up in the first few minutes, so then you can sit back and let the story unwind.
Scott: I was really happy with the comedic level of the movie. I knew it wasn't a knee-slapping funny movie like most of star Ferrell’s other movies and I was still happy with how funny it was.
Mike: Right. I found it funny without it being the typically silly comedy Ferrell is known for. In fact, I was very impressed that Ferrell played the role pretty straight and refrained from getting goofy. Anybody expecting a regular Will Ferrell comedy may be disappointed.
Scott: You could almost say he was sedated.
Mike: Very normal. Probably like he actually is in real life.
This role reminds me of when other comedians have decided to show that they can play a serious acting role. Like Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam or Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Scott: He is an IRS agent that lives in a gray world. He never does anything fun, his life is about numbers and schedules.
Mike: Other than Ferrell the other standouts in this movie are Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman as Professor Jules Hilbert.
Crick is definitely jarred from his routine when he realizes that his life is being narrated from above by Karen Eiffel (Thompson).
Scott: She is great in this. She is an author who hasn't written a book in 10 years and is suffering from serious writers block.
Mike: I think that Thompson is fantastic in any role she plays.
Scott: Thompson is excellent as the out-of-touch writer who can't figure out how to kill her main character Crick. Eiffel uses her fantastic imagination to come up with creative ways to off him.
Mike: Like Meryl Streep, when you see her come onscreen you know you are going to get something really good.
Scott: She really seemed to get into the role.
Queen Latifah has a few good lines as Penny Escher, who is brought in to help Eiffel finish her book.
Mike: Meanwhile Dustin Hoffman may very well be the funniest and oddest character in the movie.
Scott: Yes, he was odd
Since Crick was having literary problems, and not psychological ones, he was sent to Professor Hilbert (Hoffman), a literary professor.
Mike: Hoffman has always been known as one of the great actors in Hollywood, but he has definitely shown a flair for comedy. Here he shows more of what he has shown in the past with movies like Tootsie and Meet the Fockers.
Scott: He was funny because he just had odd behavior that didn't make sense, but still seemed like something a professor would do.
Mike: Someone still needs to explain to me what he was doing with his coffee. You certainly don't want to drink after this guy.
Scott: With him on screen you really had to watch what he was doing. It was like one of those 'what is wrong with this picture' things.
Mike: Where’s Waldo Hoffman?
Scott: Maggie Gyllenhall is Ana Pascal, the angry baker that Crick has to audit.
Mike: She does a good job and seems to have chemistry with Ferrell.
Scott: I enjoyed her in the movie. I thought she was a pretty good contrast to Crick. Something like “opposites attract” thing going on.
To me it felt like Pleasantville and Pascal was adding some color to Crick's black and white world.
Mike: A small role that I enjoyed was Tony Hale as Dave, Harold Crick's only friend. Tony was terrific on Arrested Development, the best comedy that is no longer on TV.
Scott: Ah yes, Dave with the Star Trek themed rooms.
I wanted to mention the director Marc Forster. He was also the director of one of my favorite movies Finding Neverland.
Mike: I did not recognize Forester's name right off, but he has directed a few powerful movies. Not just Neverland, but also &tag=wwwrichmond09-20&index=dvd&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325' target='_blank' id='movie'>Monster's Ball. I thought both were very well done.
We need to mention Zach Helm, the guy who wrote a pretty good movie off of a very original premise. Apparently, this is his first movie.
Scott: Pretty much downhill from here for him.
Mike: Hopefully not, but he sure will be under some pressure on his sophomore effort.
Scott: It will be tough to find another original idea. This movie was also different in that it had romance and wasn't a romantic comedy and it had Ferrell and still was a drama.
Mike: Obviously. Original ideas are so rare around Hollywood.
So this would be a comedy drama romance?
Scott: Definitely a drama comedy romance.
Mike: You are throwing me off. Comedy drama comedy romance comedy what?
Scott: Something like that.
Mike: Okay.
So what do you rate this?
Scott: I give it a 4 overall and a 4 for drama comedy romance
And you?
Mike: I also give it a 4 overall and a 4 for drama comedy romance.
Although this may not be exactly what they expect from the commercials, I think people are going to enjoy this one.
Scott: I really liked it. I thought the length was perfect and the ending was great. It just really worked for me.
Mike: I liked that I did not how it was going to end until it just unfolded in front of us.
Scott: Kind of like life. When you know the end, it loses a lot of the fun
Mike: As was narrated by Emma Thompson...
Should I be worried that my Birth Certificate has an expiration date?
Scott: No, but your life insurance policy does, worry about that.
