a great comedy with heart and a brain

Rating: 10/10 (7 November 2006)

I saw an advanced screening of 'Stranger than Fiction' tonight at my university, and I absolutely loved it. The film presents a fresh take on the themes previously best examined in Pirandello's 'Six Characters in Search of an Author,' but in this instance, it's one character, Harold Crick in search of his life within the narration. Mr. Ferrell plays Harold Crick with the earnestness that always ran at the core of his best characters; this is his 'Truman Show.' The film expertly skates between comedy and tragedy, perfectly voiced by Emma Thompson as the author of Harold Crick's life as we know it. She plays Eiffel with conviction, wit, and a great affinity for gallows humor. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a very "Maggie Gyllenhaal" character, but she adds levity and romance with aplomb when necessary. Dustin Hoffman and Tony Hale also do well in their somewhat-limited screen time (especially in the case of the sadly underused Mr. Hale, who imbues each of his scenes with a similar childlike exuberance that those of us who know and love 'Arrested Development' are familiar with). Queen Latifah does an admiral job with a character who seems merely to act as the voice of the audience or the recipient of exposition. Her character sticks out (sometimes painfully) among the many round characters of the film.
The film has a similar tone to 'I heart Huckabees': a little erudite, a little tragic, great fun, witty comedy, generally life-affirming. The difference is that this film has more heart and less pretension than 'Huckabees'. That being said, this is a wonderful English major's movie: it's about the power of literature.
I would highly recommend the film, especially as an alternative (or chaser) to the raunchier 'Borat'. (I saw the two within a few days of each other, and both illustrate that the American comedy is not dead. Both movies thrive on opposite ends of the spectrum.)