Barely Worth Watching

Rating: 5/10 (30 August 2013)

To sum it up, the premise of the movie is interesting, but the execution... not so much.
They could have done some hilarious things with the narration, put him in some wacky situations, but instead it just plays out in the most dull and uncreative way imaginable. The way Ferrel's character reacts to it is stilted and unrealistic, in my humble opinion.
Besides the life-narration thing, the story is the typical boring salary-man lives boring life, and we're SOMEHOW supposed to feel sorry for him and accept him as representative of a mediocre life when in an actuality he is quite privileged as a tall, fit, healthy man with a good job, and no responsibilities such as a wife or kids. Come to think of it, why and how could a great novelist write a full novel about such a boring life anyway?
Anyway, one day he meets manic pixie dream girl. They skipped the essential part though where their relationship has any actual ups-and-downs. The way they get together is pretty unconvincing too. I am puzzled that either one likes the other. His overtures towards her get downright cringe-worthy and creepy in its overly-earnestness, reminiscent of Anakin and Padme in Episode II.
I'm probably missing something, I don't understand what theme they were going for, or what the significance of the ending is. The movie overall seems pretentious and self-important. The movie sputters along boringly until the end when it tells us (but doesn't actually show us) it is dramatic and profound.