A "Wow!" Moment For Will Ferrell

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2007)

Will Ferrell fans now have a very good reason to stand up and cheer. Myself not being much of a Ferrell champion (although I modestly enjoyed TALLADEGA NIGHTS), I came into STRANGER THAN FICTION wondering if he might try some over-the-top antics or just give another mediocre performance. Amazingly, Ferrell gives a thoughtful and insightful portrayal of a conflicted man who believes he's being followed by a narrating woman's voice.
What gives Stranger Than Fiction its emotional heft, too, is its clever script and fine performances by Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal (SHERRYBABY), Dustin Hoffman, and even Queen Latifah.
Falling partially into the fantasy category (but only slightly so), the story is of Harold Crick, an IRS agent who one day begins hearing a woman's voice narrating the more mundane portions of his life ("Harold brushed his teeth 32 strokes up and down and 72 side to side"). Initially Harold fears he may be having some sort of mental break. He goes to see a shrink who eventually (and reluctantly) refers him to Professor Jules Hilbert (Hoffman). Some of the most entertaining dialogue is heard here as Hilbert and Crick try to decide whether the voice is narrating his life as a comedy or a tragedy (or maybe some other genre). When Hilbert asks Crick what he does for a living and if there's anyone that might want to hurt him, Crick replies, "I'm an IRS agent, everyone hates me." To which Professor Hilbert responds, "Well that certainly sounds like a comedy to me." Eventually, Harold discovers who's voice is in his head. It's a novelist named Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), and it appears that Harold is simply a fictional creation of her's that has somehow come to life. Harold races to find Ms. Eiffel before she finishes her novel, strictly because he knows that he plans to kill her (she narrates to him this simple fact, much to Harold's dismay). Once they meet, Ms. Eiffel is somewhat freaked out by the prospect that one of her creations has come to life, and Harold is even more freaked to learn that she's finished the novel (the ending isn't typed yet, but is handwritten and awaiting the plunk! plunk! of the typewriter keys).
The ending is bittersweet for both Harold and Emma. Can she change her masterpiece of fiction? Can she not kill Harold and still retain the essence of her work (she's killed off her main protagonist in all her other novels)? Ferrell's soft-spoken tax-man performance was something of a marvel. His witty line deliveries and his tender relationship with Ana Pascal (Gyllenhaal) goes way beyond anything we've seen from him before. Again, much of this can be attributed to the brilliant script by Zach Helm. But Will Ferrell's performance cannot be denied. He's in almost every shot, proving that he can be a great leading man if given the right set of circumstances. Now let's just hope that he continues on this upward swing.