I like movies. Alot. But recently movies have mostly done a good job of disappointing me. I think in the last six months only Little Miss Sunshine has managed to make me glad I went to the theater.
But the trailers for Stranger than Fiction made big promises-a premise that sounded intriguing, a stellar cast and a soundtrack by Spoon. My hopes were high.
I am happy to report, and now intend to spread the word, that this movie is a sheer delight on all counts.
Part of what I loved about this movie is that all the characters are essentially good people. Flawed, but really good. I feel like I go to alot of movies and watch alot of TV with characters I would never ever want to meet in real life. But I really cared about everyone in this movie. And I loved the way they cared about one another. There was an underlying kindness in this film that put me in tears practically from the beginning.
The writing was beautiful as well. It's hard to write movie dialogue that manages to make you feel like you are actually reading a book. Every word seemed to be carefully picked. And because the narration was done by the effortlessly amazing Emma Thompson and her delectable British accent, well, it sent little shivers down my literature loving spine.
All the performances were nearly flawless-Dustin Hoffman was a pleasure to watch as always, Emma Thompson is awesome, Maggie Gyllenhaal is so endearing. But it was Will Ferrell who really stole my heart. When he is not being a complete goof (and trust me, I like some goofy Will Ferrell), he has a sweetness and a vulnerability I think alot of actors cannot pull off. And because he pulls it off so well, you can understand why everyone else in the movie is so affected by this sort of vanilla-seeming IRS agent.
At the risk of sounding overly cliche-this movie made me laugh and it made me cry and it even made me think a little. If I were to hear narration of my own life, what parts would seem absurd to me and what changes might I make so it reads a little bit better?
Anyway, I saw it saturday and here it is wednesday and I still feel a bit glowy about it. If you don't already have weekend plans-I suggest that you do now.
2 comments:
and for the record Katie, you were in tears before the movie even started - apparently you already sensed the good! :)
I concur. Two thumbs (or stubs if you have the short thumb gene) up.
I personally was most appreciative of Dustin Hoffman's character. Also, I would not mind hearing about childhood regrets for not going to space camp and seeing the glee that comes to a grown man's face (esp. BUSTER'S!) when that dream is to be potentially fulfilled.
What a good movie this was. I liked it so, so much (even though the ending seemed a bit too happy for this cowboy ... not a spoiler, right?). It just felt like an old, dialogue-driven film to me. And those are the ones I'd prefer to see.
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