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Stranger Than Fiction (movie review)

Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:23 PM EST
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By Michael Sautter
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genre: drama / comedy.
director: Marc Forster.
starring: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman.

plot: Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) one day starts to hear a voice narrate his life. Even more disturbing, one day the voice seems to say that he will die soon. Not wanting to die, Harold tries to figure out what is going on.

The acting is generally very good however I think Will Ferrell holds the movie back from being a four and a half star or five star movie. Not that his acting is real bad, it's just that at times there are awkward moments where you're not sure if it's a comedic moment or not. Different people laughed at different times when I saw the movie. So an actor with more experience with comedy and drama would have been an improvement. (Maybe John Cusack?)

Don't let my slight criticism of Will Ferrell's acting scare you away from this movie. It is well acted, well directed and the plot is top notch. I would not be surprised to see an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay for Zach Helm. So go see Stranger Than Fiction but don't expect an outrageous Will Ferrell comedy.

my rating: 4 stars out of 5.

bonus: A good soundtrack with songs by the Clash (Death or Glory) and the Jam (That's Entertainment).

IMDB: Stranger Than Fiction (2006), 7.9 / 10 (2,506 votes).

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Adam Hobson

I actually though that Farrell's acting was spot on. Those awkward moments where you weren't sure if it was supposed to be funny or not, well that's how real life worked. I thought Ferrell gave one of the most real performances actually portraying a real human being, rather than a caricature.

  • 2 votes
Reply#1 - Sat Nov 18, 2006 8:40 AM EST
JRO

I give it 9.9/10, all thumbs way way up. I thought this movie was just fractionally short of great.

I felt the flow and timing to be perfect, the plot to be compelling and acting superb. It touched me.

The only reason it fell short of 10/10 was the unnecessary role of Queen Latifa. That character served no purpose in the story.

I'd see this movie more than once.

    Reply#2 - Thu Nov 23, 2006 3:19 PM EST
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