Thursday, December 17, 2009

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)


If you know me, you would know I am not a big Will Ferrell fan.  I liked him on "Saturday Night Live", but I have not liked his film career.  I decided to give him one last chance.  I finally watched "Stranger Than Fiction".

The film is actually pretty good.  Will Ferrell is decent.  Not great, but not bad.  This is his best performance by far.  The real stand out performance is Maggie Gyllenhaal.  I thought she was very good as the hipster baker.  

This is a very original film where a man's life is being narrated by a disembodied voice.  Ferrell figures out that an author is writing a book and that author in control of his life since he is the main character of her story.

When Ferrell finds out about this he seeks the help of a literature professor played by Dustin Hoffman.  Hoffman was good, but I thought his character had some real issues that was not discussed.  For instance, he seems to believe right off the bat that Ferrell's life is being narrated.  Wouldn't he think it was strange?  Another thing that bugged me about Hoffman's character was that he told Ferrell that he had to die for the sake of a literary masterpiece.  What kind of human being would kill someone just so a good book can be written?  Hoffman should have died!

"Stranger Than Fiction" is beautifully written and everything comes full circle by the end of the film.  I felt the film would have been stronger, however,  if it dealt more with the relationship between Ferrell and Gyllenhaal instead of Ferrell trying to figure out what kind of story he was in.  "Stranger Than Fiction" is recommended for its writing, beautiful use of graphics, and the acting talent of Maggie Gyllenhaal.

B  I recommend it.

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