An original story, being funny and dramatic at the same time, a celebration of Will Ferrell indeed

Rating: 8/10 (9 May 2007)

I had seen this movie before, but as it was so good at the first time, I decided to watch it another time to see if it's still that good. Oh yes, it was. "Stranger Than Fiction" tells about an IRS agent Harold Crick, whose life is pretty much dependent on his wristwatch. He's precise in everything, from brushing his teeth to his coffee breaks at work, every day is the same and Harold's whole life is repetitive. All of a sudden, he starts to hear a narration of a story in his head, telling about Harold's life, being right in everything he does. Obviously the narration starts to affect his life as well.
The screenplay is very well written, it's very unique and original, like no other I've seen before. It's so sweet in a way that it just makes you smile. The whole story telling is just marvellous, progressing with comedy and drama mixed up together, it makes you laugh and it makes you sad, so this is not just a comedy. For me, it's more like a drama and though it is actually, quoting the movie title, stranger than fiction it is after all some way so believable, although you know it can't be true. That's why the screenplay's so fantastic, making something fictional to seem like something like it could actually happen. The directing makes the screenplay even better, by being accurate and precise. It's nothing phenomenal, but still deserves a big plus.
Will Ferrell does his best role performance yet to date, by far. The movie's a perfect example of the fact that Ferrell can do drama as well besides the usual comedy. He's also just so fitting for the role itself, he actually looks like Harold Crick, being the character by his substance. A big applause for Mr. Ferrell indeed, just perfect. What comes to other role performances, well, there couldn't be better actors doing them. Dustin Hoffman plays a professor named Jules Hilbert and he's just so incredibly funny in the role as well, being that enjoyable himself he always is. Emma Thompson is the narrator and the author, doing it perfectly. A little bit different role from Thompson which also makes it rather surreal, but oh well, she's one of those actresses who can actually perform any role. Great. Despite the excellent performances of Hoffman and Thompson, the one who takes the cake is Ferrell. We've seen comedians doing dramas in the past and to just name a few excellent ones there's Jim Carrey with "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", there's Steve Carrell with "Little Miss Sunshine and there's Robin Williams who has done it a million times, yet perfectly every time. Will Ferrell belongs to that group of comedians now and he is more than warmly welcome.
All in all, "Stranger Than Fiction" is a great movie. It's very enjoyable, it's funny and it's surprisingly dramatic, including an excellent scene which actually made me shed a tear. That's what is so surprising in it being so dramatic, there's the hilarious Will Ferrell, who can obviously break hearts as well. This just makes me waiting more of dramatic roles from Ferrell, as he just was so good in this movie. Hopefully he'll be doing more drama, as when it comes to comedy that's guaranteed from Ferrell. Anyways, the movie's great, no matter what your aspect is. Just watch it and most certainly enjoy it. It puts a smile on your face.