Mitty Grade

Late last year, when many potential Oscar nominees were arriving in theaters, another movie seemingly designed as award bait was released, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Some saw it as Ben Stiller's bid to be taken "seriously," but that's overlooking his dramatic work from some time ago -- such as his starring role in Permanent Midnight. In any case, this new movie both starring and directed by Stiller, received no Oscar love.

I think speaking fairly, it wasn't quite good enough to deserve any. But it was better than some of the films in the mix.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty revolves around a title character who manages photo assets at Life magazine. His is something of a sad existence; he's always dreaming of grand adventures, much like those depicted in the photos he curates, but he's never been able to take the plunge. And now he's even losing his job, as the magazine is shutting down its print division in the internet age. But when a famous photojournalist's important shot for the final issue goes missing, Walter finally does embark on quest around the world to track down the man and his photo.

The trouble with this movie isn't that it's bad. Actually, it's rather good at what it's trying to do. The performances are winning, from Stiller himself and the likes of Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Sean Penn, Patton Oswalt, and more. The cinematography is truly beautiful, with amazing vistas of Iceland (standing in for Greenland in the story) that inspire you, like the main character, to go see the world. Visual effects are cleverly deployed in (day)dream sequences to heighten the reality.

And yet there's a familiar, formulaic quality to the story being told here. You've seen it before -- this type of hero, in this type of story, with this type of ending. You know the lesson of the finale before the first act is even over. Because of the good performances and production values here, familiarity doesn't quite breed contempt. But it does at times breed impatience and indifference.

Ultimately, if you choose to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, you probably won't be disappointed. (Particularly after I've told you not to expect the world of it.) But I can't imagine anyone anywhere adding it to the top of a beloved movie list. In the long term, it's a probably forgettable C+.