Taxing rom-com...

Rating: 4/10 (5 January 2009)

Tricksy, would-be cutesy rom-com with a "Truman Show"/"Sliding Doors" type twist as blue-collar IRS nobody Will Ferrell finds his mundane life manipulated by a mysterious omnipotent "narrator" towards an ultimately tragic conclusion (at least for him). Problem for me here is the "com" part as my funny bone steadfastly refused to let itself be tickled by on-screen events and with the extra-dimensional plot having, as indicated, been done before to more credible effect elsewhere, I found the movie ultimately an exercise in futility. Ferrell really needs a Jimmy Stewart or even Bill Murray-type languor to carry off his Average-Guy part while Maggie Gylenhaal is equally unconvincing as a tattooed baker, behind with her taxes (seriously!). You don't get any sense that this unlikely duo could ever get attracted to one another except in a kooky Hollywood movie, then throw in Dustin Hoffman in a by-numbers part as Ferrell's shrink, Emma Thomson as the befuddled author/narrator and Queen Latifah as her P.A. so that it's difficult to highlight whose character is the more useless. In addition, quite why the director sees fit to soundtrack early 80's UK new-wave songs from the likes of The Jam, Clash and the great Wreckless Eric (whose little-known classic "Whole Wide World" takes centre stage as Ferrell's song to his particular siren), is ultimately as confusing and meaningless as the rest of this slight and unsatisfactory confection. By the end I'm sure I was meant to have a little Capra-type glow and some expansive thoughts on the old free-will versus fate discussion, but honestly, I'd have been more entertained evaluating all this in the dustiest of text-books...