Say Hi to Stranger

More "movie catch-up" for the weekend took me to see Stranger Than Fiction, or as Shocho calls it, "The Harold Crick Movie."

I've always had a very polarized opinion about Will Ferrell. This is because there are basically two different Will Ferrells. One of them is very funny, whether putting on a character or just playing it "straight." The other is "naked Will Ferrell." Too often, he seems to resort to taking his clothes off to try to generate laughs. Others may find that funny for some strange reason, but not me. Actually, Will Ferrell's percentage of funny and likeable is inversely proportional to the percentage of his body covered in clothing.

Fortunately, this movie did not star the naked Will Ferrell. It starred the funny one. Not that he's really delivering the lion's share of the humor in this one. Actually, that honor would go to Dustin Hoffman. A very funny and quirky character was written on the page, and he lifted even more out of it. It's a truly outstanding comedic performance.

Some critics have referred to the movie itself as "Charlie Kaufman lite," saying it aspires to that writer's bizarre and brilliant movies like Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But I don't really think this movie aspires to be surreal throughout like those other movies -- it just happens to have a surreal premise. I don't mind that it's not completely wacky, and I think anyone who was expecting that had incorrectly set their expectations.

Also, some critics have been down about the ending. But I think they're really off the mark. It's difficult to say much without giving things away, but put simply, the ending has an interesting statement to make about the technique of storytelling. And while it does resolve the story conclusively, it poses a very interesting question to the audience at the same time: which ending to this story would be the best one? In a way, you're asked if you want to "choose" an alternative ending to the story, and I think people who do are reacting to the material in a very interesting way of their own.

This is by no means a laugh-riot you should drop everything to see. But it did keep me smiling, and it actually provoked some conversation among my friends after leaving the theater. That's something a comedy rarely does (beyond simply repeating favorite jokes to one another).

I suppose in that respect, maybe it is a little like a "Charlie Kaufman lite" after all.

I give it a B-.