Actually quite superb

Rating: 8/10 (28 February 2007)

I had heard a lot of good things about this movie, but was unsure if I wanted to see it as I haven't liked anything done by Will Ferrell so far (and yes, I've seen parts of "Elf"). Deciding to let that X-factor slide, I went ahead and checked it out based on some of the reviews I heard.
Turns out Will Ferrell wasn't only good, he was brilliant and perfect for the role. His usual sarcastic-saturated loudness was replaced by a reserve and quietness that created a Harold Click absolutely perfectly around the narration.
Stranger than Fiction is a movie about a boring, lifeless IRS auditor who one day gets distracted from his daily routine of counting brush strokes on his teeth by a woman narrating his life. This oddity eventually turns out to be only one of his problems as his life suddenly starts changing one-by-one: he meets a woman he falls almost instantly for, his watch starts making fits, and the professor of literature he goes to see for advice can't seem to decide if he's in a comedy or a tragedy. Not only that, but the narrator told him he is going to die soon.
This movie is hilarious and pretty well written (minus perhaps the cliché Stiff-Neck-Falls-In-Love-With-Free-Spirited-Woman subplot and the underdevelopment of Queen Latifah's character, who is surprisingly good in her role as well), which is probably one of the reasons why everyone does so well in it. Amazing what a good script and some decent directing will do to turn an annoying comedian into an actor.
I was slightly curious about the ending. I actually secretly hoped he'd die just to see if the filmmakers would be gutsy enough to kill him. However, the ending it has is actually very appropriate and perfect.
This movie does pose an interesting questions, and NOT the "if you knew you had a short time to live" one. As a writer or storyteller, are you responsible for your characters' deaths? How important is a great work of literature over somebody's life? How close can you really get to your characters before you can't bear to see them go? --PolarisDiB