It could have worked

Rating: 8/10 (2 February 2012)

But it didn't. Will Ferrell delivers the performance of his lifetime though, and that's probably the only thing that can keep you going all the way till the end titles.
The greatest merit of this movie is supposed to be its quirky, non-linear narrative and yet there's a misplaced feel-good tone and a nauseatingly clichéd Hollywood happy ending.
In a nutshell: the most grey, dull, mechanical, efficient, obsessive, lonely, soulless IRS employee in the whole history of the universe (Ferrell) discovers a voice in OFF that narrates his life. He sets out to discover what the heck is going on and ends up consulting with Dustin Hoffman, an annoying, overacted literature professor who sips his coffee in a way that is known to drive some people into a homicidal frenzy.
They discover that Ferrell's life is actually being created on-the-go by a famous writer, overplayed by Emma Thompson. She inexplicably has Queen Latifah as an 'assistant'(?) to finish the novel on Ferrell's life, although at no point is it shown in what capacity she helps on that, unless sarcasm and smug get books finished.
In the process of all that quirkiness happening, Ferrell goes through a metamorphosis and reveals a tender soul where dwells a funny, creative, flirtatious guy who scores with a hot anarchist hippie (who hates to pay taxes), by playing a lousy song on a guitar.
If you haven't been nauseated away at this point you discover that Emma Thompson (who is the best writer alive) kills off all of her characters in her books, so Ferrell's life is in clear and present danger. Sound stupid enough? Yes, the best writer in the whole planet ALWAYS kills her main characters. So the whole story revolves around what to do next, leave Ferrell alive for a mediocre story or wipe him out and score a 'masterpiece'. This is a great plot device to introduce at least a pinch of thoughfulness, introspection, questions about life and death, free will, fate, art and... well, no, forget it. The whole knot is undone with a romantic comedy twist that makes you feel cheated, and cloyed as if you had had 20 mars bars in one sitting.
In summary, a promising first 15 minutes with a clever premise, but nothing to write home about when the end titles start rolling. What a shame. Watch "Adaptation" and you'll see what this movie wanted to be but couldn't.