A Good Story and Promising Script Ruined by One Significantly Poor Choice

Rating: 5/10 (15 July 2007)

This review is based on the DVD so I reference some of the bonus features.
The story is an excellent one; while some seemed to feel it should have been more like The Truman Show or Adaptation, I enjoyed the fact the script took some chances, and did so in imaginative ways, while still moving the story forward which is, after all, what any good movie should accomplish. Many of the performances were very strong, particularly Thompson and Hoffman. What is unfortunate is that so many other talented people were, essentially, wasted in what sometimes were pointless cameo's (for example, Tom Hulce, Kristen Chenowith, and Linda Hunt). Queen Latifah (particularly) and Maggie Gyllenhaal's role could also have been played more appropriately by other actors; in Gyllenhaal's case, a different choice would have made the pairing work better.
However, the really bad choice that really ruined the movie was the casting of Ferrell as the lead. While there is nothing intensely wrong with his performance, he is not a very good dramatic actor and does not have the range for this type of role. In the case of Hoffman and Thompson, you got to watch their performances and enjoy the characters without thinking about the acting. With Ferrell, it just felt like you were watching him read the dialogue - competently, at times, I would admit - but this is not a script that called for competence.
When you see the disk and hear the main producer and director (and particularly the screen writer) fawn over Ferrell as the best choice and a good lead, you have to wonder whether this was a choice partially (if not wholly) forced upon by the studio or some of the money men, in the hopes of making the movie more commercial, but unfortunately, in had the effect of making a potentially interesting and really enjoyable movie into a mundane, if at least proficient one.