By:Antawn Salinas

Follow Me on Twitter: @OwlFeedAntawn

It seems like every big comedic actor has tried at least one point in their career to do a more serious role. In an earlier review, I talked about Jim Carrey doing that. This time I’m talking about famous comic/actor Will Ferrell.

Released in 2006, Stranger Than Fiction, stars Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman and Queen Latifah.

It centers around Ferrell’s character who’s name is Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who experiences the same thing every day. That is until he hears a voice which is narrating everything he is doing.

It turns out that he is a character in a book which is being written by Emma Thompson’s character named Karen Eiffel, who is currently having “writer’s block,” and can’t figure out how she is going to kill off Harold. In one of the narrations, Harold hears that his death is inevitable, so he spends most of the movie trying to figure out what is going on.

The closest movie I can compare this to is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Not only because it’s a comedian doing a more serious role, but in the way the movie is told. They are both romantic comedies, but with something that’s not really supernatural, or even scientific, thrown in the mix.

With Spotless Mind, it was the trippy imagery and scenarios . Here, it’s the narration. It leads into some clever storytelling and some funny jokes, and it’s one of the things that makes this movie special.

The acting in this is top notch. While I wouldn’t say it’s Oscar worthy, everyone does their job well. Will Ferrell especially is great. He’s not the goofy and loud Will Ferrell from movies such as Elf and Anchorman. In here, his performance is more subdued.

While his character is a good guy, he hasn’t really done anything at all in his life. One of my favorite things about the movie is how he reacts to the narration at first, which is pretty funny in they way they do it.

The supporting cast and characters also do well. Thompson as the narrator/author is funny, while having a darker sense of humor. She’s great alongside Queen Latifah’s character, who is making sure the author finishes her book. Both Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffman, while not in the movie a whole lot (Gyllenhaal basically disappears after the second half and doesn’t return until the end), give good performances.
While this isn’t a movie I would say is a must see, I recommend it if you are looking for a movie that will make you feel good in the end. Some might even get teary-eyed towards the end.

It’s not a great movie in my opinion because there is a big plot hole that is created in the the middle of the movie that makes things a little confusing. I won’t spoil what it is, but it doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. Other than that, it’s a good movie about living life and finding who you are. Go check it out.

Some quotes from other critics: “Stranger Than Fiction is both about a novel and like a novel; you eagerly await the turning of the pages”-Moira Macdonald from the Seattle Times

“”It’s not the best piece of English literature of the last ten years,” Dustin Hoffman says of Emma Thompson’s newest novel, “but it’s not bad.” That just about sums up Stranger Than Fiction, too” -Joshua Starnes from comingsoon.net.