Criminally Underrated

Rating: 10/10 (16 April 2019)

Stranger Than Fiction starring Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson and directed by Marc Forster is a film that kind of slipped under the radar for a lot of people. I hadn't heard of it until I saw the trailer for it on a DVD. What first drew me to it was the movie's concept. I was expecting an interesting enough, Will Ferrell comedy, but what I luckily got was a deeply intimate, thought provoking, emotional and humorous tale, that might just be the greatest dramedy ever in my opinion.
The film about a reserved and lonely man named Harold Crick who wakes up to find a women narrating his life within his mind. We find out the narration is a famous author writing a book, and plans to kill him in the end of the novel...
The concept itself it greatly original and it pretty much sucks you in from the very start. I love Stranger Than Fiction because of the way it builds on its already great concept to truly make a statement on control, love, life, fate, and responsibility. The movie could've had Will Ferrell ending up in insane comedic situations, but instead it makes us look at our own lives through the lens of a man who feels real. Harold Crick is maybe a extension of our own fears and desires. He's what we would be if we didn't take risk. Even though his real fate is set it by the author writing the book, he had already pre-decided his fate by the life that he was living. This makes us question what kind of life we're living. The movie offers inspiration through a fantasy concept and conveys it really beautifully.
However, the movie is also very humorous. The comedy in the movie is very clever and you will find yourself both in thought and wearing a big smile during this movie.
The reason I think it is the greatest dramedy ever is because one of the themes of the movie is tragedy vs comedy. While it is humorous, it never compromises its emotion and honesty.
If I had to find a flaw within this movie, it might be the ending as I feel like they could've gone a less safe way as they did, but the ending still is very sweet for what it is.
Stranger Than Fiction is one of the most underrated movies I've ever seen. It has a great plot, great screenplay, directing, and is just a great film. It's sad to see that is not talked about as much. Will Ferrell gives by far his best performance in his career showing he can really play a character with weight. This is one of my favorite movies and I hope you decide to hop into the both humorous and dramatic mediation that is Stranger Than Fiction.
10/10.