Should Have Remained The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Rating: 5/10 (16 December 2013)

Ben Stiller has so far this year had what may be called a 'quiet one', however fortunes look set to change with the latest blockbuster 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'. Viewing of the trailer promises a touching and majestic piece of cinematography, a warm and heartfelt theme is vowed as Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) drifts in and out of his own nine-to-five mundane reality through increasingly outrageous and awesome daydreams To which I'm sure many of us can relate.
A film which is involved with routine, lost dreams and online dating has all the makings of a relatable canvas. Walter is a non-descript human, when asked to complete his online dating profile over the phone we are pulled into the first of many 'visions' where Walter emerges from a burning building only to claim the damsel – in this case a colleague whom he has been following online for some time yet struggling to pluck up the courage to persuade her to even acknowledge his presence at Life Magazine – the truth, Walter handles photos for Life Magazine.
When Walter is eventually cornered into a conversation with the coveted Cheryl Melhoff played by the elegant and desirable Kristen Wiig his life comes to a crossroads as she challenges him as no-one has before. Walter sets off around the world à la carpe diem in search of a photograph from the illusive photographer Sean O'Connor played effectively if only briefly by Sean Penn.
There are moments of beauty and splendour as his travels see him traipse through Greenland, Iceland, submerged in the Atlantic Ocean and finally back to the office cubicle. Despite this, the film's script is ropey at best, when promising to deliver a picture of the 'quintessence of life' for the final issue of Life Magazine we are promised so much, unfortunately, the conclusion to the photo mystery is rather trite and aspects such as the closure of the magazine is trivialised by absurd characters.
The problems with Walter Mitty's Secret Life is that the fantasies which both we and Walter experience eventually descend into the slapstick and satirical, forcing a film, which promises so much on an emotional level, to become farcical in so many manners.
Breaking out from the restraints of his role as a 'negative asset manager' and blossoming one would expect Walter secret life to contain deep and meaningful means to an end, despite this Walter's secret life is riddled with hilarities such as an inebriated helicopter pilot and even moments on the Himalayas are trivialised as Walter searches out Sean only skimming the surface of emotional connection before moving swiftly on.
It is hard not to get caught up in the energy of Walter Mitty's adventure, only to be let down when Stretch Armstrong and Bejamin Button 'sketches' are thrown into the equation. The film may stem from a short-story but that is no excuse for 'filler', the victim; sentimentality.
Ben Stiller recently talked of his desire to be behind the camera as his zeal for screen time diminishes with a heightened desire to direct. A somewhat natural step, even if he hadn't confessed that in an interview it is very hard to escape that feeling while watching the tired and lacklustre 'feel-good' family Christmas film this year. Sorry kids.