A Feel Good Epic for our times

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2015)

A modernisation of the iconic short story, Stiller's version tells the tale of wallflower and daydreamer Walter Mitty (also Stiller), stuck in a meagre existence as a negatives manager for Life magazine. One day, he receives the last batch from an acclaimed photographer (Penn), only to find one of the photos, dubbed 'the best', missing. This sets Mitty on a journey away from his normal surroundings, and into the wider world, letting him have real adventures while also growing confidence to woo a fellow worker (Whig).
A feel-good epic, Stiller's 'Mitty' is the sort of film that is rare nowadays; imaginative, but also cheeky with a good sense of heart. Stiller and Whig make fine and charming leads, Adam Scott is a hammily fun villain as the takeover manager, and there's ear and eye candy aplenty, whether it be the rather humorous daydreams of Mitty himself, from saving pets from a burning building to having a concrete surf battle with Scott on the streets of New York, or just the gorgeous and lush landscapes of Greenland, Iceland and Afghanistan. Shapiro's score is similar whimsical yet also reserved and soothing at points, and the song choices all fit the 'life is an adventure' theme very well and don't overstay their welcome.
Honestly, I was having such a good time that I couldn't notice much in the way of flaws. Really, aside from Stiller's daydreaming never being properly explained save for a throwaway line from his mom (played by the always lovely Shirley Maclaine), the only other issue is sometimes, the story will move along just to move along, and it can feel a little too drastic at times. Example, when Stiller has to go to Greenland to find Penn's character, after one 'What?', he just pulls together and strides confidently onto the next flight out. You could make the argument that Penn's little mantra about life, which also Life's slogan, entices him, and he's sort of in a daydream state, but before, he was just shy and nervous, and the daydreams are established as being in his mind, so he doesn't actually move. Why now? But frankly, the film's combination of charisma and scope won me over, and was able to smooth out any rough patches in the plot. It's a simple 'get out and live life' tale and executed rather well. Dare I say, it's one of the more likable films I've seen in a good long while, in an age often over-saturated with films that are bright, but really dumb, or dark, edgy blockbusters.