Stranger Than Fiction

I saw Stranger Than Fiction on November 11th, and I was very impressed. The movie was extremely good and is on my short list for best films of the year. It's definitely not #1, but it's very high up there.

The best comparison I can give for the style of this film is The Truman Show, which is a VERY high compliment in my book. In fact, the comparisons run deeper---this film does for Will Ferrell for The Truman Show did for Jim Carrey. Farrell played his role completely seriously; none of his shtick was there at all. And what to you know: he actually has a ton of talent when he bothers to use it. I was extremely impressed! Hell, even Queen Latifah was good in her role.

Anyway, in Stranger Than Fiction, Farrell plays an IRS agent who happens to double (accidently, of course) as a character in someone's novel. Strange things start happening when Farrell starts hearing voiceovers, and there are a couple of very Simlish moments. (Once, there was even a thought bubble!) Also noteworthy is that Farrell plays the kind of shy analytically-minded person that hits close to home. And, in general, I am a major sucker for well-done films with shy protagonists who spend the film trying to conquer those demons. (By the way, I absolutely loved the voice-over comment about his chance of making an ass of himself as a "ratio" [though he really meant 'function'] of the time he spent talking to a certain girl. (Emma Thompson was the narrator, and she executed the dry British wit perfectly, enhancing several scenes immensely.) One time, he gave a girl (who owned a bakery) a gift of "flours." Yes, I spelled that correctly. And the execution was brilliant: "I brought you flours." Oh, that was awesome!

The analytical mind of Ferrell's character was puncuated with the use of mathematical surnames (Hilbert and Mittag-Leffler) that were purposely chosen. (Before I saw the film, I noted the comment in the LA Weekly about the choice of names, and the article in question never even mentioned Mittag-Leffler.)

Anyway, this film may not be receiving the hype of some others, but it's fantastic! I recommend it highly! (The new Bond film is really good too! [I'll review this in a day or two]... Borat, not so much.)