Hindered By One Scene (Possible Spoilers???)

Rating: 8/10 (31 January 2014)

I find it amazing how one scene can change your perspective on a film, for better or worse. Often, a film can trudge along until one pivotal moment propels it to greatness, or vice versa. With Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the scene in question proves to be one of its few flaws.
Walter Mitty (played with nuance by a superb Stiller) is a resident of a bygone era. His wardrobe consists of a drab gray palette, echoing the black-and-white images of a dying generation. He never does anything fun or exciting, preferring to keep to himself, a symbol of the suburban flight of the postwar 1950s. He works for Life magazine, a publication which in real life went digital over a decade ago, processing black-and- white photographs, the old-fashioned way.
It is no coincidence that Stiller injects symbolism into his film: its very premise necessitates that he address certain dichotomies. Chief among them is the struggle to update a 1939 short story into a relevant 2013 film. Stiller (and screenwriter Steve Conrad) address these disparities by leaving Walter in the past while the world moves on without him. In his own way, Walter Mitty is the consummate symbol of the "boomer" generation. He feels a strange disconnect from the increasingly digitized world around him, underscored by his fear of associating with the new and his preference for isolation in what he knows best. His inevitable journey of self-discovery, then, is both a tribute to things we consider obsolete and a rational plea for inter- generational communication.
I cannot say enough about how good this film is. The acting, the writing, the direction and cinematography are all top-notch.
But there is still the issue of the aforementioned key scene. In reality, the scene is not vital at all: it is a complete throwaway, and should have stayed on the cutting room floor.
See, Mitty likes to daydream. A lot. They are elaborate and detailed daydreams, too, and Stiller indulges us in all manner of special-effects laden whimsy when portraying them. But in one particular dream, where Walter imagines himself as Fitzgerald's Benjamin Button, Ben Stiller lapses into, well, Ben Stiller territory. It's a stupid gag played for stupid laughs, and it completely took me out of the movie's rhythmic flow. Its colors are from a different film, its acting is hammy and cheap. And after Mitty was over, I was left with two thoughts: the first was that it was a great film, and the second was that it was hindered by one scene.
Walter Mitty is easily Stiller's best directorial effort, a layered, gentle portrait of a life well-lived. It falls just short of being a classic, though, because of a minor directorial indulgence, a faux pas that ultimately reminds us that Stiller has yet to reach his full potential.