Not a pursuit of happiness but Walter's secret life

Rating: 10/10 (3 June 2016)

I LOVE this movie and would give it 20 stars if I could. It really speaks to people who have let their real selves be smothered by the obligations of life. I relate so much to this film. Let me start off by saying that I just finished watching Hector and the Pursuit of Happiness. While I thought the movie was a good try, Walter Mitty nails the whole "I'm having an existential crisis" genre. Hector knowingly and purposely went out to find out what happy means. Walter's happiness in the movie was a result of him letting himself be himself. It wasn't forced and was more natural. I really enjoyed the character development of Walter. At first he seems like a distracted, uptight, weakish type person. But as the movie carries on, I understand more about him. His daydreams represent extensions of his actual personality that the mundane reality of his life stifles him from becoming. When Walter is a kid, he had a mohawk and was a skateboarder. Walter has strong values, he loves his family and wants to do his job to the best of his ability. He is adventurous in his daydreams - until one day his since of integrity pushes him to explore his true self. He is truly a man of courage and adventure as he learns on his journey. That sense of freedom, from when he was a kid, before he had to take on the role of man of the house, comes back to him after all those years. He matures and learns that the only thing stopping him from making his dreams reality is his perspective. I love how his true personality (the adventurous kid with a mohawk and skateboard that is deep down) squeezes out his "secret life" which he makes a reality.