Rolling Stone
"You need to see how Ferrell switches gears to give a performance of nuanced wit and surprising gravity." 09/07/2006 p.124Box Office
"Ferrell is strikingly funny railing at the omnipresent voice rattling his life." 11/01/2006 100 Rolling Stone
3 stars out of 4 -- "This is a Ferrell you've never seen before, nailing a role that calls for breakneck humor in the final race against the clock and touching gravity in the love scenes with Gyllenhaal." 11/20/2006 p.136 New York Times
"It is to Mr. Ferrell's credit, and the movie's, that he manages to be interesting without mugging or riffing, but rather by playing a highly controlled man in an impressively controlled manner." 11/10/2006 p.E10 Entertainment Weekly
"[A]n eminently easy-to-watch piece....[The director] gets infectious performances out of Maggie Gyllenhaal...Dustin Hoffman...and Thompson..." -- Grade: B- 11/17/2006 p.99 Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[Ferrell] makes us genuinely root for his bemused hero...It's not often laughs come with so much thought attached..." 01/01/2007 p.32 Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- "The script is brilliant....Thought-provoking..." 01/01/2007 p.142 Sight and Sound
"STRANGER THAN FICTION is particularly impressive in its use of stunning Chicago architecture and excellent production design....The performances are also uniformly excellent." 01/01/2007 p.80 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "A delightfully surreal and utterly engaging post-modern film that deftly explores what it means to exist." 05/01/2007 p.97 ReelViews 9 of 10
Stranger than Fiction does a lot of things exceedingly well and almost none poorly. It takes a great premise and runs with it, neither wasting opportunities nor going off on tangents. It features strong work from both the main and supporting actors, and manages seamlessly to incorporate both humor and poignancy. I was expecting Stranger than Fiction to be funny; I had not anticipated it to be as touching as it is. Director Marc Forster and screenwriter Zach Helm reveal great affection for their characters, and this is apparent in every frame of the finished picture...Nothing in Stranger than Fiction is cookie-cutter or formula driven...The visuals are playful (Ferrell's numbers obsessions are colorfully illustrated on the screen with a series of overlays) but the emotional impact is not. Stranger than Fiction is a wonderful cinematic experience - a welcome way to spend a chilly autumn evening. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
What a thoughtful film this is, and how thought-stirring. Marc Forster's "Stranger Than Fiction" comes advertised as a romance, a comedy, a fantasy, and it is a little of all three, but it's really a fable, a "moral tale" like Eric Rohmer tells...Will Ferrell stars, in another role showing that like Steve Martin and Robin Williams he has dramatic gifts to equal his comedic talent..."Stranger Than Fiction" is a meditation on life, art and romance, and on the kinds of responsibility we have. Such an uncommonly intelligent film does not often get made. It could have pumped up its emotion to blockbuster level, but that would be false to the premise, which requires us to enter the lives of these specific quiet, sweet, worthy people. The ending is a compromise -- but it isn't the movie's compromise, it belongs entirely to the characters and is their decision. And that made me smile. - Roger Ebert
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