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Directed by: Marc Forster Starring: Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal Let me start out by saying that this movie surprised me greatly. I was expecting a cookie-cutter plot where all the interesting points are already known by simply seeing the trailer, but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself greatly compelled by the plot and most of the characters of the film. Emma Thompson turns in an Oscar-worthy performance as the tortured and idiosyncratic author of Will Ferrell's life. Dustin Hoffman's performance is also good and a bit understated. To my surprise I found there to be several excellent shots in this film, a few that made me pause to enjoy them further. The film loses no time plunging you into the plot, there is very little introduction, and what intro there is is excellent. I particularly enjoyed All the numbers, charts, graphs, etc. that popped up throughout the movie. I'm sure some will call this gimmicky, but it's new to me and adds a different perspective to the action. The movie is rife with small twists and tweaks but manages to stay on target throughout. My main complaint is that Will Ferrell's performance is simply not up to the level of his fellow actors. He has a few great moments of deadpan, but also misfires more often than I would have liked. It just seems that he spends too much of this film straight-faced. Now I know he's supposed to be an IRS agent and boring and all...but the film is about the change in his life, and I just don't feel that he truly made the audience connect with his change. I was very happy to see Tony Hale and the two dudes from those awesome Sonic commercials...but was also very disappointed at their lack of screen time and failure to contribute much humor to the film. Maggie Gyllenhaal turned in a decent performance, but I felt that her character was not as important to the plot as her amount of screen time indicated. Speaking of ancillary characters Was I alone in feeling that Queen Latifah was pretty much meaningless to the plot...I mean we all knew that Emma Thompson needed some sort of weird, outside influence to write her ending, we didn't need Penny's character to point this out All in all it was a very enjoyable movie. I loved the ending sequence, although I'm sure there will be plenty of grousing about it. It is a very uplifting movie about the power of everyday happenings. If a few of the loose ends were tidied up this could have been an amazing movie. As it stands it is a good film with an excellent script. Definitely worth a look, also a great date movie. RATING: 4.0 PROS: Great script, Emma Thompson's performance, Interesting concept, Well-done ending CONS: Will Ferrell at times, Some plot miscues, A few loose ends ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420223/
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Nov 11, 2006 06:26
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Synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes One morning, a seemingly average and generally solitary IRS agent named Harold Crick begins to hear a female voice narrating his every action, thought and feeling in alarmingly precise detail. Harold's carefully controlled life is turned upside down by this narration only he can hear, and when the voice declares that Harold Crick is facing imminent death, he realizes he must find out who is writing his story and persuade her to change the ending. Review Stranger than Fiction was not what I expected it to be. I thought that this would be the now-standard type of Will Ferrell movie with comedy along the lines of Anchorman and Old School, but wanted to see it anyways because I was interested in the premise. I was very pleased that Ferrell's performance is very dissimilar to his latest few movies. The movie has a bit of the quirky feeling present in The Royal Tenenbaums and Life of Steve Zissou and mixes it with a normal comedy very well. There is a small presence of a fantasy type film, especially in the beginning, but it abandoned somewhat quickly almost as if the filmmaker didn't have enough confidence in it to exist with the well-done reality part. The story itself is fairly straightforward yet at the same type gives you a feeling of not quite having the entire story which kept me interested in how things were going to turn out. Once you start watching, you realize there are only two ways the story can end and I was pleased with the ending chosen, however I feel it would have worked with the other one as well. This isn't a "great" movie per say, but I didn't feel it was trying to be. I felt it was just trying to be a solid, good movie and I think it achieved that really well. I highly recommend seeing this film and I would probably get it when it comes out on DVD. RATING: 4.0 PROS: Not the typical Will Ferrell movie, a nice mix of normal and off-beat comedy CONS: No real faults, it's one of those movies that's just good, not great
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Nov 11, 2006 06:35
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Emma Thompson, the narrator of Herald Crick's life (Will Ferral), was portrayed as a disturbed modern "artist" more so than just an author. Her habits defined her very well; chain smoking, messy, appearance of little sleep, and her ability to visualize what she writes. She was by far my favorite character and I felt that she fit the role the best out of anybody in the movie.
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Nov 11, 2006 08:48
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Saw it last night, and while I found it to be an interesting, original and well done story, I didn't feel that Will Ferrel played the character very well. Honestly, I couldn't get over the fact that someone would make out with him. It's not that he's abnormally unattractive (not gay), I just can't ever imagine him in a sexual setting. That probably colored my view of the movie more than anything. 3.5/5 Pros: Interesting story, great supporting cast Cons: Will Ferrel not up to it, he gets the girl
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Nov 11, 2006 19:55
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I found this movie to be painfully PAINFULLY slow, predictable, and unimaginative. Ferrel might've shown that he can do more than comedy, but it wasn't enough to save this movie. The love story was the only semi-interesting thing going on, and even that was incredibly contrived. RATING: 1.5
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Nov 11, 2006 21:47
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Walked out after 10 minutes. ----if you walked out on it just rate the movie but don't waste your time writing a review that's useless. -Ozma
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Nov 12, 2006 01:12
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I really enjoyed this movie. I agree that Ferrells acting could have been tighter, but I was pleasently surprised by this apparent range of his. I thought the romance between him and Maggie was weird, lookwise, but in the flow of the movie, and the characters; I found it to be very light and refreshing. Overall, I'm giving it a 4.5 Pros: Will Ferrell not being Will Ferrell. Emma Thompson was superb. Dustin Hoffman was very good, but could have been developed more, imho. Overall style. Cons: Some awkward moments. Pacing of the movie stuttered at times. No usage of Queen Latifa.
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Nov 19, 2006 02:42
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I liked the movie quite a bit. I'm somewhat of an English geek, so it appealed to me in that sense, although it wasn't so in depth that it was boring. I really enjoyed it. Also, was I the only one who thought it was funny how many little similarities there were between Maggie Gyllenhaal's character in this movie and her character in Donnie Darko? She was a bit of a rebel ("I'm voting for Dukakis"), got accepted/went to Harvard, had a bit of an attitude. The years line up fairly well, too. Maybe it's secretly a crossover:D
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Nov 20, 2006 01:15
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I didn't even want to see this movie when I went to the theater, I was just dragged along by a friend. I'm happy I was dragged along. I don't normally like Will Ferrell's brand of humor (movies like Anchorman and Roxbury just don't do it for me) but this had me pleasently surprised. I had never even heard of this movie before seeing it, so naturally I went in with the only bias being that Ferrell was in it, so I thought it was going to be a two hour long slapstick type comedy. I was entertained the entire way through it, and the end was awesome. Pros Will Ferrell puts on his best performance in my opinion. It wouldn't be hard to top his other roles, but this role was light years ahead of the other dumb roles he's had. Cons At times it felt a little bit long, but it was still worth it in the end.
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Nov 20, 2006 23:23
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I really liked this movie. It was very charming, and while slow at times, the character development and performances were very well-done. Emma Thompson is nothing short of brilliant, and Will Ferrell really shows some chops by playing a believable, normal, empathetic "normal guy" dealing with a very strange situation. I'm surprised other people didn't think Will Ferrell was that good--I think he did a really fabulous Everyman. Maggie Gyllenhaal is suprisingly three-dimensional for the amount of lines and camera time she has, and Dustin Hoffman is Dustin Hoffman (it's the same character as I Heart Huckabees). The only underwhelming performance is Queen Latifah, who didn't really need to be cast in her role which mostly moves the plot along instead of adding any real depth. The filming and direction is very well-done and everything is done to focus around the very well-crafted characters. The slow pace in the beginning to middle part may be off-putting, but stick with it and I think you'll find yourself falling in love. 4/5
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Nov 25, 2006 21:27
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A surprising and powerful movie... As an aspiring writer and an English geek, I found a lot of the "writer humor" hilarious, however it was subtle and wouldn't bore the average viewer. The story was interesting and fun to uncover, and it gave me a lot to think about. The movie dealt with the themes of death, destiny, and free will in an interesting way. I never thought a Will Ferrell movie would need another viewing to process, but this one is worth a second show. Thompson and Hoffman are wonderful, Gyllenhall is decent, Queen Latifah is just there, and Ferrell has something of a break-out performance. The movie has some nice shots and interesting scenes beyond the performances. Many of the scenes with Thompson and Latifah are hauntingly beautiful. This isn't a plot spoiler per se, but if you want to avoid knowing more about the movie than you should, don't look: The storyline moves inexorably towards two possible endings. I was at first disappointed with the one they chose, but on further consideration, it was a thought-provoking choice and raised many interesting questions. Had I written the movie, I would have chosen the other ending, but I can see the benefit to the given ending. 4.5/5
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Nov 30, 2006 13:35
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This movie rates among the best movie theater experiences I've ever had. The story was interesting and very well told. The plot might be predictable in some sense, but even so the particular way in which events unfolded made this irrelevant. Everything that happens to Crick just seems to happen in the right way. Also, being a huge fan of puns and malapropism as excellent brands of humor, I found the part where Crick brought Pam Pascal a box of flours to be incredibly amusing (and not just for the fantastic portrayal of awkwardness Ferrell managed to convey). I was the only one in the theater to have a hearty laugh at that scene.  Even though I doubt anybody will win an Oscar for it, this movie is easily one of the best this year. This movie rates 4.5/5 easily.
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Dec 11, 2006 20:03
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I really enjoyed Stranger Than Fiction. It has a clever story with depth to it, some great characters, and excellent acting. (Ah poo poo, Let me be a little more generic with my description.) I thought Ferrell lived up to the task. I thought that his approach to Crick was not too underplayed the way Jim Carey often approaches dramatic roles. I think Carey sometimes underplays in drams so he can really play up the comedy aspects of the role. I think Ferrell, on the other hand, maintains Crick incredibly well throughout the film. The writing is stellar. There are a lot of scense in Stranger than Fiction where they could have thought too hard or tried to make the scenese too clever. Like I thought the scene when Ferrell and Thompson meets for the first time was going to be a cluster gently caress, but I was very pleased with it. Anway, if you like good Kaufmann knock-offs I think you will be pleased with Stranger than Fiction. I agree with the OP about Latifah 4/5
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Jan 6, 2007 00:49
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I found this movie surprisingly powerfull. I was really interested in the main character and excited about the forward movement of the plot. I was both rooting for him and fearing for him as the story unfolded. The writting was spectacular and the soundtrack very fitting in a sort of unconventional way. Overall, the movie was moving and emotionally stimulating. I felt a conection with the main character and truly enjoyed the experience. 4.5/5
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Jan 10, 2007 04:49
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It was wierd going to see this film, cause i read very little about it beforehand and from the trailer i wasn't sure what to expect. By the cast and the title i figured it'd be a departure from Farrell's Old Schoolesque loud obnoxiousness, but i was amazed at just HOW far a departure it really was. I think in a way that tainted my views on this film, because the whole time i was amazed that he could actually play a relitively quiet role, andd be the "butt of the joke" but do it without running into a wall or eating gum from the underside of a railing. the charcter flirts with an almost suicidalesue depressive state the whole film, even before he begins to actually hear the narrator, up until the near end. I thought the romance between him and Glynehal was pretty well done, they really did seem to have a sort of quirky chemistry. I think one of the things i liked most about this film was that you could inturpet many of the scenes from different perspectives, many of the charecters lines or actions around or to Farrells charecter can be seem in several lights, and because of that it seemed deeper then it probably was. This movie was truely the best movie i had sean all year in theater. My only gripe was the lousy soundtrack but it never took me out of the picture it just didn't enhance the experiance. This is a film i eagerly await on dvd to add to my collection, i most wholeheartedly reccomend this to anyone who can sit through a "quiet" film, also some of the comedy was just awesome, "Are you the king of the lanes?" "What" "The bowling lanes....", great. Score 5/5.5 Pros:decent to excellant preformances all around, a movie you can really digest and use as a topic starter Cons: Will Farrell's "song" and the soundtrack in general
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Jan 13, 2007 12:03
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I had a long pretentious analysis of the whole movie written out talking about color themes in the movie (the color of Harold's sweater, etc), free will, et al, but I really don't think it did the movie justice. Instead I want to say that Ferrel's song was intentionally bad because the character had only a few weeks worth of guitar experience. For the guy who walked out 10 minutes into the movie, watch it the whole way through before you judge it; I think the ending (thought predicable) was executed very well. This was no overwhelming thinkpiece. It did what it set out to do without being overly pseudo-philosophical. 5/5.5
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Feb 18, 2007 10:16
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SageSepth posted:Cons: Will Farrell's "song" and the soundtrack in general Not Will Ferrel's song. It was a single by the Monkees. I enjoyed the rest of the soundtrack though, I thought it was fitting for the movie v  vI really loved this movie, because it was nice to see Ferrel get out of his element, and I think he did a drat good job, because most of the comedy he does annoys the poo poo out of me. In any case, I'm probably going to wind up purchasing this film. It definitely touched me because I felt that I could relate to Ferrel in more than a couple ways. 5.5/5.5
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Feb 28, 2007 07:52
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This was an okay movie with some entertaining bits. The biggest problem I had with it is that the fantastic ending to the book that everyone was willing to let Harold die for was actually incredibly lame. I think the movie as a whole would have worked better if they had just dumped the entire narration aspect of the plot and focused on a guy with a meticulously organized life that goes to hell when he gets slightly off schedule. 3/5
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Mar 18, 2007 03:36
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They were showing this movie in the campus theatre and I almost skipped it, I'm very glad I didn't. Ferrel makes a nice departure from his slapstick dumb comedy and can actually act. Emma Thompson was incredible, and I liked Dustin Hoffman's performance too. I found myself actually caring for the characters, and never felt the movie was dragging. The film ended up being very funny, and the part with the Flours was my favorite. The story and how it was portrayed was nothing short of amazing and I would recommend this film to anyone. 5/5.5
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Mar 21, 2007 06:09
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I just saw this and it was pretty good. It wasn't quite as funny as the trailers made it out to be, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I think either of the possible endings would have worked equally as well. I'm not a Will Farrel fan, but he did a good job in the movie. Especially towards teh end. Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson were also very good. Maggie Gyllenthal and Queen Latifah didn't have much screentime or much to do. I liked that this movie dispensed with one staple of romanitic comedies - boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl again, and it was all the better for it. 4/5 cornface posted:I think the movie as a whole would have worked better if they had just dumped the entire narration aspect of the plot and focused on a guy with a meticulously organized life that goes to hell when he gets slightly off schedule. John Cleese already made this movie. It's pretty funny. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Mar 26, 2007 |
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Mar 26, 2007 01:36
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I watched this on the plane last night, and I really enjoyed it. I think Will Farrel was great, it could have so easily dissolved into a typical Will Farrel movie, so I think credit must go the director for keeping him on track. Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman were both perfectly cast for their roles. Also, holy poo poo flours I totally didn't get that at the time  4.5/5
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Mar 26, 2007 22:42
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Painkiller posted:Also, holy poo poo flours I totally didn't get that at the time Ha drat I feel like an idiot. It flew right past me too...
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Mar 26, 2007 23:02
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I still don't get it... Anyway this movie was pretty drat good untill the ending. They build up a nice story that could turn into something meaningful but they instead royally gently caress up the ending and make it another generic movie. 4.5/5 untill the end but I'm dropping to 3 because the movie even says it ruins the ending!
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Apr 1, 2007 11:15
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Bashez posted:I still don't get it... Actually, I really agree with you on that. I had the same reaction as Dustin Hoffman's character when Emma Thompson changed the ending of the book to a "happy" one. "Meh. It's okay." I did like the visual effects and Will Farrell's understated performance. I think he could be an amazing dramatic actor. 3/5
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Apr 11, 2007 02:45
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Bashez posted:I still don't get it... Most people would bring flowers for their girl. This girl's a baker, so he brings her flours instead, as in a box of different types of flour. I really like Will Ferrell in everything he's been in, and so I was looking forward to seeing him do something completely different and low-key. I thought he was very good. In fact, I liked everything about the movie except for Queen Latifah. For her character being such a minor part of the movie, they should have cast someone else. I just kept waiting for her to be loud, obnoxious, and sassy like she usually is. I realize that's precisely the complaint some people had about Will Ferrell in this movie, but that's my take on it. In regards to the ending not being as good by letting Will Ferrell live instead of killing him, I think it was better the way they chose to end it. Hoffman's character is looking at it from a literature standpoint, and so he sees the moment of Ferrell's death as the beautiful, poetic ending. However, the effect that Thompson's narration has on Ferrell's life, and the changes he goes through, end up being more beautiful than his death would be. Now he has an entire life to live, that will be worth so much more than just the next in a long line of an author's tragic story endings.
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Apr 17, 2007 18:09
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I love Ferrell in every OTHER film he's been in. This was an utter disappointment tbh. I waited to get it on DVD and fell asleep watching it 
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Apr 21, 2007 14:09
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I think this was one of the best films of 2006. I found it sincere, heartfelt, and quirky without being too hokey. The movie is very well casted, performed, and written. At the same time, it doesn't become self involved like so many movie in this place. If you are looking for a solidly entertaining and relaxing movie, or just a great date movie, this is definitely worth checking out. 5/5 PS: I also liked the ending and felt it was the best way they could have gone.
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Apr 28, 2007 08:56
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4.53? Are you joking? What was so damned great about this movie? It featured:
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May 16, 2007 02:11
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-y "climax" of "emotion"
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I was expecting something mediocre going in, but was pleasantly surprised by this. It took a rather gimmicky idea and really developed it well into something interesting. Emma Thompson was hands down the best character in the film, and Farrel was much better than I had anticipated. The only thing I couldn't stand was Queen Latifah's character, but I think she's a loving horrible actress and every movie I've seen that had her in it would have been better without her. 4
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Jun 7, 2007 06:14
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