Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

"Intricately plotted without being contrived and exhilarating in its eccentricity.  Claudia Puig, USA Today
"...smart, ingenious and heartwarming.  Ian Freer, Empire
"...a clever idea, and you feel a little smarter watching the thing unfurl.  Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Editor's Note Known to most audiences for his hilarious characters, funnyman Will Ferrell continues to try his hand at more serious material with STRANGER THAN FICTION. The film comes as relatively light fare for director Marc Forster, whose previous works were FINDING NEVERLAND and MONSTER'S BALL. While not exactly a drama, the film shifts between humorous and heavy realms, one of its central questions being: "What makes a comedy or a tragedy?" In WINTER PASSING and MELINDA AND MELINDA, Ferrell awkwardly occupied a strange space that was neither clearly dramatic nor comedic, leaving audiences confused over whether to laugh at the actor or with him. Here, in the role of boring Harold Crick he appears a bit more at ease, as Harold is not expected to be funny--funny things just happen to him. Instead of depending on Ferrell for jokes, the film delivers laughs on its own by exploring what happens when an IRS agent with a dull, solitary life receives unwanted company in the form of an intrusive female voice narrating his every move. As distracting as this is, things become truly worrisome when the narrator (Emma Thompson as an eccentric author) informs Harold of his looming death. How Harold's life changes as a result of this terrifying knowledge depends largely on wacky Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman) and on tax-evading baker/love interest Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal). While Queen Latifah's role as an author's assistant is underdeveloped, Tony Hale brings an innocent charm as Harold's coworker and only friend. At times, the film's take on existentialist themes feels strikingly familiar, and is clearly influenced by features like ADAPTATION and I HEART HUCKABEES. Among its strengths, the film features interesting sets seemingly influenced by the 1950s version of the future, and functions as a small step forward for Ferrell.

	Dustin Hoffman
	Emma Thompson
	Kristin Chenoweth
	Maggie Gyllenhaal
	Queen Latifah
	Tom Hulce
	Tony Hale
	Will Ferrell
	Brian Reitzell - Original Music By
	Britt Daniel - Original Music By
	Joseph Drake - Executive Producer
	Lindsay Doran - Producer
	Marc Forster - Director
	Matt Chesse - Editor
	Roberto Schaefer - Cinematographer
	Zach Helm - Writer

Rolling Stone
"You need to see how Ferrell switches gears to give a performance of nuanced wit and surprising gravity." 09/07/2006 p.124

Box 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