Movie Review: Stranger Than Fiction

Now let me say right off the bat that I like movies like this. It was quirky, convoluted and a little unusual. I also love writing and the process of writing, so watching the author go through the agony of her craft was a lot of fun.

Right off the bat the movie hooked me with the weird visual cues that revealed Harold's mind working. I was laughing right from the start, and I thought Will Ferrell really nailed the essence of that poor, sad tax man. And Emma Thompson as the agonized author was fantastic. She had me convinced with one look that this was a woman so twisted up inside that it was no wonder the only job in the world she could have was 'Author'.

Clearly, though, once you get into the heart of the movie, it falls apart a little. You have to very willingly suspend your disbelief that anything like this could ever happen. Most of the time I was able to do it, but now and then a moment would pull me out of my forced acceptance and tickle my skeptical heart. And it was a little trite at times. A little too-good-to-be-true. A little over the top. A little cliched. But then again, in a weird way, that all kinda worked, too. Because of the nature of the plot, you knew it had to be a bit contrived.

The ending left me a little sour though. If it had gone the way she wrote it the first time, it would have been awesome. But the Hollywood sugar at the end really undermined everything the Author was about, and I just didn't quite buy it.

I also wanted another layer to the movie. I wanted some interesting switcheroo, or some deeper revelation to really wow me right at the end. Unfortunately it just coasted to a cute end and left me feeling just the tiniest bit manipulated.

7.5 I'd say, but it was perfect for what Lu and I both wanted last night (she called for 'Freedom Writers, I called 'V for Vendetta'. 'Stranger Than Fiction' was something we could both enjoy, and we did!)