Another case of a misleading trailer

Rating: Null/10 (2 January 2014)

The trailer seems to target selling this movie to the audience population that seeks brainless, silly fun. It may well have succeeded from the perspective of the box office, but it is also misleading. While not exactly profound, "Mitty" is a thoughtful piece of cinematic work, camouflaged in apparent silliness.
The key plot element is a condition (it may even perhaps be termed a medical condition) of the protagonist Mitty: he would at times fall into a "daydream" (a trance, you can even call it) right I the middle of a conversation. Many in the audience with a preconceived thought that this is done only to elicit laughs may have missed an important point: this is one of the key plot-driving elements, as this condition causes him to miss a piece of very important information in a conversation (the identity of the other party withheld here to avoid spoilers). Had he not miss this piece of information, the story may have taken a different turn, although perhaps not changed in entirety.
The outlandish silliness paraded in the trailer comes in two distinctly different categories. First, it's the "daydreams" and into those templates the movie makers can insert absolutely anything and it still makes perfect sense – it's just a dream (well, a daydream if you want to be particular about it). The other thing is real-life and here we do have some pretty far-fetched situations such as jumping from a helicopter, missing the target lifeboat and ending up in the roaring sea, or skateboarding all the way down a meandering roadway in Iceland as if it was riding a bike. These are part of the plot line, somewhat ridiculous but no more so than what you would find in many other comedies. I'll skip outlining the plot here, leaving it to the reviewers' discovery during the movie.
Somewhat far-fetched plot notwithstanding, "Mitty" is an underdog story and a love story. Nothing is new in the former department but the story is told with thoughtful consideration that easily has the audience rooting for our protagonist. The letter latter is refreshing in today's proliferation of smoking sex scenes five minute into a movie. With a small spoiler, let me say that the protagonists have their FIRST hand-holding scene in the LAST shot of the movie. The beauty of the movie owes much to the wonderful chemistry between Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig. One critic describes it as "cute" and I'll buy that, although it's more than just cute. Two other roles, while both not much more than cameo, must be mentioned. Shirley MacLaine, in one of her most low-key performances you have witnessed, is heart-warming as the protagonist's mother. Sean Penn's portrayal of a somewhat unconventional photography artist (he stands On TOP OF a small plane to take shots of an erupting volcano) is riveting. Only he can make the character so believable and likable.