An enjoyable, inventive sort-of-comedy

Rating: 7/10 (26 December 2007)

You'd be forgiven for mistaking this film as a Charlie Kaufman creation because screenwriter Zach Helm seems to have pulled a page right out of Kaufman's book of quirky ideas. Needless to say, if you enjoy Kaufman's inventions then you will probably enjoy this film as well.
The story concerns an IRS auditor (Will Ferrell) who suddenly finds that his life is being narrated by an unknown voice that only he can hear. The premise is simple but the treatment shows surprising depth. The film freely plays with conventions and manages to make some pretty dry concepts somewhat palatable.
The cast is well-assembled, with Will Ferrell taking the spotlight and holding his own alongside major talents like Dustin Hoffman & Emma Thompson. Also worthy of note is the ever-enchanting Maggie Gyllenhaal.
My main regret is that the movie wasn't quite as good as I thought it could have been. There were some very funny moments early on but comedy soon took a back seat to more 'serious' matters. I think that a more outright comedic slant would have benefited the picture. Not to the exclusion of the 'serious' side but hand in hand with it.
When you get down to it, though, I'm just glad to see that there are still a few movies coming out of Hollywood that can't be pigeonholed into an easy classification.