Reality Often Is

Rating: 9/10 (11 April 2008)

First of all, I am entirely fed up with Hollywood doing such a crap job of advertising. This film was marketed as another typical Will Ferrell comedy. However, it isn't for that type of audience. The humor is quite dry, there isn't any gag-comedy and the tone borders on morbid. That being said: I loved it.
Harold Crick is not a likable man, nor is he a hate-able man. He's just there: one of the million boring people you pass on the street. One of the million you would not notice if you never saw them again, or care. But something happens: he begins to see his life from a different perspective, namely that of a best-selling author. And facing the probability of having spent his entire life without actually living for a second of it, he sets on a mission: to pursue his dreams, to love, to make an impact, and most importantly- to figure out how to stop the author from killing him.
Everyone did a bang-up job in the acting department. I prefer Will Ferrell here over any of his other films. His character has substance, he grows from someone you couldn't care less about to someone you can't stand to let die. I was impressed: this is very much Ferrell's Truman Show. I love Emma Thompson and thought she was brilliant especially at the end. Her scene explaining to Dustin Hoffman her choices on the subject of Harold Crick resonated with me.
Adding the calculations that go though Harold's head on screen was very cool. I have only seen the film on Internet streaming, so I cannot wait to go back and catch the nuances in better quality. The film was funny, by all means, but it didn't hit you over the head with a "laugh here" sign at every corner.
Overall: great film. I just hope the marketing campaign didn't drive away people who would really like it, as it almost did me.