Movie Review of "Stranger Than Fiction" (***1/2)
Rated PG-13
By CK Movie Kid Jonathan Lack

Will Ferrell as a member of the IRS.

Now that I've drawn you in, know that this Will Ferrell movie is nothing like the lighthearted "Talladega Nights." He's moved into drama territory with his latest film, and unlike other comedians that have tried the shift, it's incredibly successful and one of the best performances of his career.

"Stranger than Fiction" is the story of accountant Harold Crick and his wristwatch, as an unknown narrator tells us at the start of the film. He has done the same thing day after day, down to the second, for twelve straight years, until a particular Wednesday when he begins to hear this narrator narrating his every action accurately. Though it seems to be something brought on by work overload, the audience soon finds out that has-been author Karen Eiffel is writing a book about Harold Crick that is dictating his whole life. Harold Crick, however, will not find out until much later.

Though I called the film drama earlier, it really is quite hard to categorize. It's got comedic elements, all within the context of a well written drama. There are no gags or jokes, but Harold cursing the heavens in futility, yelling at the voice is quite funny. I guess I would call the film a delightfully offbeat semi-drama, as odd as that sounds. The whole thing is fairly unorthodox and offbeat, but delightfully so, and isn't a totally rigid drama. You can relax into this film, though it packs an emotional wallop at the climax. The collective gasps of the audience are proof of this.

Will Ferrell plays Crick perfectly, being totally flat and emotionless throughout, in a way that makes us connect with the character somehow. By the end of the film, you almost feel one with this character. We know him so well and have grown to love him in 90 minutes, something few films ever successfully pull off. Though it's still a somewhat comedic role, it's definitely the heaviest he's ever played, and he does an excellent job.

Emma Thompson plays Karen Eiffel, and it is a truly inspired performance. She is generally off screen, mostly providing narration, but she comes off cold and somewhat crazy in a spellbinding way. Obviously she has some mental issues, and it adds to the film in many ways. One might also note that here writing style bears great resemblance to Douglas Adams, author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." In fact, the whole movie sounds like an Adams story when you think about it.

On the whole, all of the acting in the film was superb. The only reason this doesn't get 4 stars is for the fact that there is one character who, though well acted, is rather superfluous. Queen Latifah plays Penny Escher, an assistant for Karen Eiffel the publishers hired. While this is Latifah's first performance that didn't make me cringe, and was in fact quite good, it was a superfluous character. She doesn't really serve a role in the story, and was most likely put in to someone for Eiffel to talk to in her on screen scenes. While the film didn't suffer from it, a good film should never have anything unnecessary in it. A good machine doesn't have any extra parts. Neither should a film.

I would recommend this film to all 12 or 13 and up. There is some language and sexuality and nudity, but is otherwise appropriate. The thing is, kids under 13 probably won't enjoy it, and would rather see one of the dozens of mindless family films coming out lately.
And now its time to add another film to my list of potential best picture nominees this year. The first two on the list have been previously added in their respective reviews, and if you check out the review of "World Trade Center," you can see a larger explanation of this system.

1. World Trade Center
2. The Illusionist
3. Stranger Than Fiction
4. ?
5.?

Why add a comedy drama to the list? Well, there is rarely a film that manages to make you laugh and to take you on a heavy emotional trip all at once. The ones that pull it off deserve the honor. (Nov. 10, 2006)