Meh'ing: Stranger than Fiction

Stranger than Fiction is a well made and clever film about a man who realises that he is the hero in a novel by an author who always kills her heroes off at the end.

Will Ferrell (a favourite comic actor of mine after his work in Zoolander, Starsky & Hutch, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back and Anchorman - and dare I say Elf) plays IRS agent Harold Crick, a taxman.

He is also the main character in the most recent novel by Kay Eiffel, a novelist who for some reason reminded me of Peter Carey. (This could well be because he has a book called the Tax Inspector but I think it was also just the style of writing in general).

Kay Eiffel is played by Emma Thompson, who I think I've fancied ever since I saw her in The Tall Guy with Jeff Goldblum. (This really is a classic rom-com if you haven't seen it)

Dustin Hoffman pops up as a professor of literature, Maggie Gyllenhaal is pretty hot as an activist baker and there is some nice work with the computer graphics which show some of the inner workings of Harold Crick's mind. Musically it's great as well - I'm not that familiar with most of the bands on the soundtrack but plan to check it out at lunchtime if possible. (If you think of the soundtrack to Garden State but with less - well no - The Shins, you're probably getting close).

So why am I meh'ing about this whole thing? (I assume you understand that meh'ing means "It's ok/good but... meh")

On paper it all works really well and I like the concept, the performances all worked, the writing was snappy and it looked great - but it's just not one of those films that sticks with you.

You know you've seen something good when you go out for dinner or coffee afterwards and the conversation is all about the movie. (Even for a little while).

With this though we enjoyed it while it was on (we being me and my two exes), walked out the doors and said how much we enjoyed it (for all the reasons above) and that was it. There didn't seem to be anything more to say.

Perhaps it was because the idea didn't seem all that fresh - you certainly think of Adaptation or The Truman Show with the whole post-modern writing-about-writing thing - and I think also I was expecting it to be a little funnier.

I'm a believer that comic actors can make the best serious actors given the right script and as I mentioned, Will Ferrell has put in some inspired turns in previous films. The prisoner with a dragon fetish in Starsky and Hutch, Ron Burgundy - anchorman and jazz flautist in Anchorman and even his performance in Elf as the 6+ ft adopted elf were inspired. Here perhaps he played things a little straighter than I liked.

There's nothing really wrong with this film and perhaps it deserves a second viewing - it just seemed a little postmodern/clever/quirky-by-numbers. I think I was smiling throughout but never really lol'ed. (and there was certainly no roflmfao'ing)

3 cushions. (out of 5)

(Stranger than Fiction is currently playing at Dendy Canberra Center)