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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 2577
Released: February 27, 2007 |
| Our Price: $5.49 |
| Used Price: $1.26 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
AN IRS AUDITOR SUDDENLY FINDS HIMSELF THE SUBJECT OF NARRATIONONLY HE CAN HEAR: NARRATION THAT BEGINS TO AFFECT HIS ENTIRELIFE, FROM HIS WORK, TO HIS LOVE-INTEREST, TO HIS DEATH.
Description of Stranger Than Fiction:
Much was written about Will Ferrell's first "dramatic role" as Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who begins hearing a voice narrating his life. But Stranger Than Fiction is hardly a drama. However, what Ferrell does--like Jim Carrey before him in The Truman Show--is handle a toned-down character with genuineness and affection: you believe he is this guy. Crick leads a lonely life filled with numbers and routines. While at first he considers the voice a nuisance, Crick decides more action is needed when it speaks of "his demise." Enter Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), who takes on the absurd notion with revelry, trying to find out what kind of book Crick's life is leading. It turns out that the voice Crick is hearing belongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a very real--and troubled--author who is writing a book in which Crick is a fictional character. As usual with these things, the stuffed shirt learns to live a better life--Crick even falls for one of his audits, a brash baker named Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Marc Foster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) has the right tone for the film, using great urban scenes (the unnamed city is Chicago) with interesting visualizations of Crick's world of numbers. He also directs Ferrell, Hoffman, and Gyllenhaal to their most charming performances (plus Linda Hunt and Tom Hulce pop up in two funny scenes). Ferrell succeeds in being a romantic lead you can root for; a scene where he eats Ana's freshly baked cookies is totally delightful without a hint of sarcasm. Screenwriter Zach Helm has two personal traits with his story: like Crick he followed his heart (he stopped rewriting scripts and only worked on his own) and like Eiffel, the final results are not a masterpiece, but good, and entertaining enough. Britt Daniel of the band Spoon worked on the dynamite soundtrack.--Doug Thomas
Extras from Stranger Than Fiction
"Counting Brush Strokes," A featurette
on the filming of Stranger Than Fictionhigh bandwidth
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Tax Man!:
A clip from the film
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Queen Latifah on working with Emma Thompson
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Stills from Stranger Than Fiction (click for larger image)
Beyond Stranger Than Fiction on Amazon.com
Comic Actors Go Dramatic |
CD Soundtrack |
Emma Thompson Essentials |
Stranger Than Fiction Reviews:
I dont' get it 
2009-11-06 - Just one question: What was the business with the watch? The only purpose I could see for it was that it saved Harold's life in the end, but other than that, what did it have to do with the plot?
Wonderful 
2009-10-29 - I had no idea what to expect when I rented this DVD. It looked quite interesting on the trailer so it was a, "Why not?" sort of a rent. And I loved it. I absolutely loved every aspect of this movie. The script was so clever I was savoring every dialogue. The casting was perfect down to the t. Nobody could have played Emma Thompson's character like she did. There's a scene where she talks about a fantastically depressing book that she'd read while researching death...haha~ who else could deliver such a line? Nobody could have played Dustin Hoffman's character - a college professor and the only person who actually believes and tries to help out Will Farrell's character who claims he hears his life being narrated by a woman. The process that he goes through to help out Will's character is ridiculous yet so logical. Get this. Since Will is in some sort of literature (or so he says) Dustin uses his literary expertise to help figure out the genre of the literature thus figuring out how his story/life will unfold. That is ingenious writing at its best, wouldn't you say? I love that Will Farrell plays Harold, the main character, in this. He's known more for his obnoxious comedy but I think this kind of role really suits him. I think he possesses a unique vulnerability that makes him so likable and perfect for this particular role. The comedic inserts throughout the film isn't the kind where you laugh out loud. It's the subtle kind where you just smile and go 'dang, that was a clever line!' I highly recommend it for those who enjoy a good play with words. Let me just say that I'm now the proud owner of this DVD.
See it
2009-10-16 - This is actually now my favorite movie of all time, I enjoy the theme of changing one's life and the actions that occur as a result. Will Ferrel is usually not who i'd expect to be rooting for, but I was - an impressive movie and a total sleeper hit.
Nothing Actually Unpleasant in this Film
2009-09-25 - Nor did anything in this film stir me to a laugh or a shaft of light, much less to a state of tension over its outcome.While the script was not focused on a new idea, films need not have new ideas to be entertaining, what they need is entertainment. Despite the talent of the performers, there was little they could do with the sodden script. Frankly, it would be unseemly further to beat this unpretentious effort. If you are stuck with watching it, there is nothing painful in doing so.
Funny and Well Done
2009-09-21 - This is a story about Harold (Will Ferrell), an IRS agent that is obsessive compulsive in every aspect of his life.
Harold has a watch that he depends on to control every waking minute of his life. Everything about Harold is predictable. One morning he wakes up to his watch and brushes his teeth the usual 38 strokes up and 38 strokes sideways. He suddenly hears a woman's voice narrating what he is doing. This is very disconcerting to someone like Harold, or anyone for that matter. Everything he does is narrated by a voice only he can hear. The voice states that he is facing imminent death so he goes to a psychiatrist who recommends a literary writer Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman) on what to do. Jules suggests to do something unexpected - like tell a baker he is auditing that he would like to start dating her. The baker Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is cute, bubbly and strong-willed, but falls for Harold. This is to be a surprise to the "voice" narrating his life - and cause a different ending. Harold begins to have fun and enjoy life and feels he cannot die young. But then he finds the author, Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson). He learns her books always have an ending where the central character dies at the happiest moment of his life.
The movie is entertaining and funny - a good story about life, death and the tax man.
