Stranger Than Fiction [DVD] [2006]

Amazon.co.uk Review
Much was written about Will Ferrell's first "dramatic role" as Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who begins hearing a voice narrating his life. But Stranger Than Fiction is hardly a drama. However, what Ferrell does--like Jim Carrey before him in The Truman Show--is handle a toned-down character with genuineness and affection: you believe he is this guy. Crick leads a lonely life filled with numbers and routines. While at first he considers the voice a nuisance, Crick decides more action is needed when it speaks of "his demise." Enter Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), who takes on the absurd notion with revelry, trying to find out what kind of book Crick's life is leading. It turns out that the voice Crick is hearing belongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a very real--and troubled--author who is writing a book in which Crick is a fictional character. As usual with these things, the stuffed shirt learns to live a better life--Crick even falls for one of his audits, a brash baker named Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Marc Foster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) has the right tone for the film, using great urban scenes (the unnamed city is Chicago) with interesting visualisations of Crick's world of numbers. He also directs Ferrell, Hoffman, and Gyllenhaal to their most charming performances (plus Linda Hunt and Tom Hulce pop up in two funny scenes). Ferrell succeeds in being a romantic lead you can root for; a scene where he eats Ana's freshly baked cookies is totally delightful without a hint of sarcasm. Screenwriter Zach Helm has two personal traits with his story: like Crick he followed his heart (he stopped rewriting scripts and only worked on his own) and like Eiffel, the final results are not a masterpiece, but good, and entertaining enough. Britt Daniel of the band Spoon worked on the dynamite soundtrack. --Doug Thomas

Synopsis
Known to most audiences for his hilarious characters, funnyman Will Ferrell continues to try his hand at more serious material with STRANGER THAN FICTION. The film comes as relatively light fare for director Marc Foster, whose previous works were FINDING NEVERLAND and MONSTER'S BALL. While not exactly a drama, the film shifts between humorous and heavy realms, one of its central questions being: 'What makes a comedy or a tragedy?' In WINTER PASSING and MELINDA AND MELINDA, Ferrell awkwardly occupied a strange space that was neither clearly dramatic nor comedic, leaving audiences confused over whether to laugh at the actor or with him. Here, in the role of boring Harold Crick he appears a bit more at ease, as Harold is not expected to be funny--funny things just happen to him. Instead of depending on Ferrell for jokes, the film delivers laughs on its own by exploring what happens when an IRS agent with a dull, solitary life receives unwanted company in the form of an intrusive female voice narrating his every move. As distracting as this is, things become truly worrisome when the narrator (Emma Thompson as an eccentric author) informs Harold of his looming death. How Harold’s life changes as a result of this terrifying knowledge depends largely on wacky Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman) and on tax-evading baker/love interest Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal). While Queen Latifah’s role as an author’s assistant is underdeveloped, Tony Hale brings an innocent charm as Harold’s coworker and only friend. At times, the film’s take on existentialist themes feels strikingly familiar, and is clearly influenced by features like ADAPTATION and I HEART HUCKABEES. Among its strengths, the film features interesting sets seemingly influenced by the 1950s version of the future, and functions as a small step forward for Ferrell.

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35 Reviews 5 star:  (22) 4 star:  (8) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:  (2) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.4 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   25 of 26 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Who Said That?!, 2 Mar 2007 By  Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) lives a boring life. He has no friends or social life. He works as an auditor for the IRS. He's so boring that he counts the number of times he brushes his teeth in the morning and the number of steps he takes. All that changes one Wednesday. When he wakes up that morning, he hears a voice narrating his every action. Of course, this creeps him out, and his co-workers begin to notice his odd behavior. But things get even worse on his way home from work when the voice predicts his imminent death. Harold doesn't relish that idea, so he begins to look for help with his problem. Eventually, he comes in contact with English professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), who tries to help him figure out what to do from a literary standpoint. Meanwhile, famed novelist Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson) is trying to figure out how to end her latest book, DEATH AND TAXES. She's got everything except how to kill off her main character, Harold Crick. As far as I can remember, I've only seen one other Will Ferrell movie. Most of the previews look too over the top for my taste. This one intrigued me, however, so I set aside my prejudices and went to see it. I'm glad I did. To be honest, I expected a funnier movie. This isn't Ferrell's normal over the top gag fest. It is funny, and I laughed through most of it. Just not as often as I thought I would. That's because there's an underlying pathos to the story. Facing death, Harold realizes that he's never really lived. This gives him the boldness to go for some things he's always wanted to do and make some friends. The performances by the entire cast wonderfully walk the balance between the comedy and the more elements of the film. Yeah, there were scenes that could have been funnier, but I like the final product. It's a great mix of comedy and drama that kept me entertained for the full two hours. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go hang out with my friends. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Liked this - a lot, 26 Feb 2007 By  Jari Ahvalo "Jari" (Finland) - See all my reviews Truly enjoyable little oddball film. Well mixed part comedy part drama that is funny, warm and thought provoking at the same time. Will Ferrell gives his best performance by far as a man who notices that he's a character in somebodys book. This time his true comedic abilities to make subtle comedy come to reality. Well balanced effort by him. He is really funny when needed and also convincing when more drama. This time he's acting and not just goofing around. Perhaps his best role so far - haven't seen all his films but many his earlier comedies show certain tendencies to "goof" around. Maggie Gyllenhaal should have earned academy award nomination for actress in a supporting role for her performance as Ana Pascal. She's one of the most talented young actresses in Hollywood today. Great effort by her. There some magnificent strength in her acting - things do happen when she's on screen. Dustin Hoffman is good as always. He's actually hilarious ans so is Emma Thompson, but in a different way. This still might not be for everyones taste. Like I said, a bit of an oddball film, strange in many ways which I personally like. Does take an different look at the reality. If you don't like "strange" films like "the Royal Tenenbaums" for example, you probably end up hating this. I for one liked "the Royal Tenenbaum" a lot and found very similar qualities in this one, so for me this one was a treat. Not necessarily like any other film out there and has its own aura, so really no need to compare thhis film to any other film out there. Have to say, that I come out of the theater elevated. In my mind, one of the best I saw in the year 2006. I will revisit this movie in the near future - that's a promise. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Story About Illusions, Love, and A Journey To Discovery, 4 April 2008 By  Zadius Sky - See all my reviews I watched this dvd last night, and it was very enjoyable, in my opinion. It supposed to be a comedy, but it is more like a drama where Will Ferrell's character, Harold, tries to find out who's the voice narrating in his head and try to find her with the help of a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman) before his "imminent death" while the morbid author Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson) trying to figure out how to kill Harold (unknowning that he's real) with the help of her assistant played by Queen Latifah. The cast of this film delivers an excellent story about illusions, love, and a journey to discovery. Personally, I really enjoyed this film. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 35 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all time favorite films Stranger than fiction just works on so many levels. It is witty and sad, light yet profound, feels tragic but is ultimately comic (at least by its own definition! Read more Published 1 month ago by Cambridge HillBilli 4.0 out of 5 stars Death and taxes Short Attention Span Summary (SASS): 1. Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is a tax man. As a matter of fact, he's the kind of serious tax man that the Beatles sang about:... Read more Published 3 months ago by Amanda Richards 5.0 out of 5 stars Stranger Than Fiction - a quirky, unexpected classic One of the most unusual and best movies I have seen in a long time. The story centres around the main character Harold, his watch, and the fact that one Wednesday, he... Read more Published 6 months ago by Dodster 5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely A Marmite Movie OK, so I may be alone in thinking this, but the obvious comparison for this movie is The Truman Show and yet, it's so much better than The Truman Show! Read more Published 9 months ago by Peanut Butter 5.0 out of 5 stars Weird, wonderful, compelling and very funny This is one of the best movies I saw last year. It's clever, funny and well put together. Will Ferrell sidesteps his usual more straight-forward choice of comic role (think... Read more Published 12 months ago by Eclectic Reader 4.0 out of 5 stars Original, clever, but not spectacular I enjoyed this film to a point and have given it four stars for originality and some great acting by Emma Thompson and Will Ferrel. Read more Published 13 months ago by Bezerus Bezby 5.0 out of 5 stars Original, clever metafiction Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is an ordinary Civil Servant. Going about his daily life he hears the voice of an author narrating her new novel. Read more Published 15 months ago by Irish Reader 5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best films I've seen in years This is a truly wonderful film. Most films these days have such predictable plots, full of special effects, snazzy camera angles and dodgy scripts. Read more Published 16 months ago by H. Sendall 5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly, profoundly astounding! An astounding film, it kept me gripped the whole way through. For me all the boxes are ticked, the director, script, plot, cast, the lot. Read more Published 16 months ago by Gary 1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment The premise is fine however I could not identify with the main character. Emma Thompson's neutrotic author role did nothing for me and Dustin Hoffman was just collecting a pay... Read more Published 16 months ago by Harry Lime Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 35 customer reviews...

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