Easily the biggest positive surprise of the year

Rating: 9/10 (26 August 2007)

This is a very clever and enjoyable movie where apparently everyone involved knew they were into something special and gave it their all, and it worked. Will Ferrell could not have done better. Nor could Maggie Gyllenhaal or Emma Thompson or Queen Latifah. It's a refreshing new take on the 'What makes life worth living?' issue. No really new answers to that question, but you won't mind. I'm a number person myself, and though I would never count things like the number of steps I took to the bus stop, I know the type. The Gyllenhaal character, Ana Pascal, is also familiar, and someone I like spending time with. Even the tax aspects of this story, hardly a focus, make sense.
No, if this doesn't become an instant classic, it won't be for lack of quality on almost every dimension. And I'll be taking notice anytime I see that the director is Marc Forster or the writer is Zach Helm.