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Stranger Than Fiction

69 Ratings: 3.7
A comedy movie directed by Marc Forster

   Stranger than Fiction    Theatrical film poster Directed by Marc Forster Produced by Lindsay Doran Written by Zach Helm Starring Will Ferrell   Maggie Gyllenhaal   Dustin Hoffman   Emma Thompson   … see full wiki

Director: Marc Forster
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Release Date: November 10, 2006
MPAA Rating: PG-13
18 reviews about Stranger Than Fiction
Showing 1-18 of 18
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Quick Tip by . October 19, 2010
I wasn't eager to see this. Then I couldn't wait to persuade my husband to see it. A weird premise beautifully executed.
review by . November 08, 2008
Stranger Than Fiction
The premise is simple but interesting: guy starts hearing a disembodied voice narrating his life and realizes he's a character in someone else's story. That's pretty much it. But the movie manages to deliver its deeper message, one about living instead of just being, without the usual everybody-be-happy cheesiness which defines so many "feel good" movies.  Will Ferrell's turn as lonely IRS agent Harold Crick is a far cry from his usual onscreen persona but that may well be what makes this …
review by . March 05, 2009
I was pleasantly surprised at this very well-done film with a highly likeable Will Ferrell as Harold Crick who is a character in a novel by Emma Thompson (I forgot her character's name) that Emma has scheduled to die.  Somehow Crick's watch does something to make him real and he can hear Emma's narration of her novel as she types it.  Crick starts to realize that all Emma's observations about him are accurate, so when she says that a certain event will set things in motion that Crick will …
review by . April 05, 2009
Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):     1. Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is a tax man. As a matter of fact, he's the kind of serious tax man that the Beatles sang about:   "Now my advice for those who die, (Taxman!)   Declare the pennies on your eyes, (Taxman!)   `Cos I'm the Taxman."   2. Crick begins hearing a female voice in his head narrating his life, and starts to take it really seriously when she starts talking about impending doom. …
review by . December 17, 2008
posted in Movie Hype
Harold Crick Was an Ordinary Man Until...
Imagine that your whole life, your entire existence was the creation of another human being's mind. What would it feel like to know that your actions were not the result of individual thought but were born of an author's imagination? How would you react if you knew that all of your pains and problems were no more than the whims of an eccentric writer? What if your fate, your world, even your personality were just the invention of another person? And what if your life was about to end and you knew, …
review by . February 07, 2009
Best-selling author, Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson), is struggling with her newest novel. How will she kill the main character, Harold Crick? Little does she know, Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is real and she is writing his life story. Harold has been hearing her voice in his head as she narrates every moment of his mundane life as an IRS agent. Harold seeks out help from a professor of literature (Dustin Hoffman), and together they try to figure out who the voice is and what it means for Harold's …
review by . December 18, 2007
What an intriguing concept - an ordinary if somewhat introverted man who, unbeknownst to himself, is actually a character in a novel-in-progress, and a novelist whose character, unbeknownst to her, is real. Not an easy story to write or film. Nevertheless, both have been done, and done well. The screenplay makes the whole thing comprehensible, and the stellar acting makes it believable. It was hard to accept that this restrained actor is Will Ferrell. He DOES have talent, and a bit of that goofy …
review by . October 01, 2007
posted in Movie Hype
I was pleasantly surprised at this very well-done film with a highly likeable Will Ferrell as Harold Crick who is a character in a novel by Emma Thompson (I forgot her character's name) that Emma has scheduled to die. Somehow Crick's watch does something to make him real and he can hear Emma's narration of her novel as she types it. Crick starts to realize that all Emma's observations about him are accurate, so when she says that a certain event will set things in motion that Crick will die, he …
review by . September 07, 2007
Truly enjoyable movie. Thompson creates yet another memorable character. She truly excells at portraying cynical characters. Gyllenhaal's character, although not as memorable, was well portrayed. Huffman was excellent as well. And Ferrell, well, it was good. His expressions' portraying a lost sad man living a completely uneventul life won me over. The movie, as opposed to its characters, refused to fall into cynicism. It is intersting to note that the most cynic of the characters goes outside of …
review by . August 22, 2007
I have a hobby as a writer. I've actually had some of my work published. I've done some pretty awful, horrible things to some of my characters. I've killed them, maimed them, subjected them to abuse parents, drugs, fear, danger and death. All in the name of good writing and conflict!    So you'll understand that the idea of ever meeting some of my characters, especially, say, in a dark alleyway, is something that fills me with some sense of trepidation.    This …
review by . July 05, 2007
You have to love a movie that starts with a   fabulous premise. In this case, the life of   hyperbollically drawn tax auditor is mysteriously   linked with the fate of a character in a   stutteringly produced work of fiction. So far, so good.    We bop back and forth between the accountant   (and his predictable love story) and the tortured,   blocked author. The resolution is not particularly   courageous, …
review by . May 16, 2007
posted in Movie Hype
Pros: Clever idea     Cons: Concept fizzles out halfway through     The Bottom Line: Writers are nuts.     Stranger than Fiction should be a lot better than it is. It has an idea which is amazingly original. But somewhere along the line it loses its focus, veers off in more directions than a Robert Altman movie, and eventually just says “screw it.” Just when you think it can’t possibly get any more misguided or disjointed, it …
review by . May 16, 2007
Will Ferrell as IRS agent Harold Crick seems at the edge of an abyss. Complacency, sameness, loneliness lure him into the empty hole of existence vs. living.    One day, during his non-wavering daily routine, he hears a voice, a narrator.    Clever slightly mocking to often sarcastic dialogue and narration invited me to laugh out loud several times. The characters are rich. Subtle special effects and camera angles created a sense of impending doom and made …
review by . May 07, 2007
People who complain about voices in their head used to be locked up or banished. Now they make great subjects for movies. This movie is about a methodic and boring man, Harold, who suddenly discovers his life is being narrated to him, as it occurs. This throws havoc on his well-planned life, and his peers notice it. Harold seeks help, and gets it from a doctor who actually seems to enjoy his "condition" and likens it to a fun experiment. Luckily, Harold discovers who his narrator is, an author with …
review by . April 30, 2007
If there is one thing I've learned about authors who write fiction, it's that believable characters can really make a story work. This is often achieved by thinking of the characters as real people, as if the author can actually interact with him or her. The fictional character can be so realistic that the author can have feelings about the character. This is why lovable characters are likely to have good fortune while despicable ones are killed off or suffer some terrible fate. When fiction writers …
review by . April 04, 2007
I avoid Will Ferrell movies, always. Hate silly, stoopid humor. Love the clever stuff (and his humor isn't). But this movie promised to be less about humor, although it certainly had threads of the clever variety woven throughout, and more of a play on a very creative imagination. I heard Ferrell was making this a serious role. So okay, that passes with me. And how could I possibly resist a performance by Emma Thompson extraordinaire? She's up there in the top two of my favorite actor list, back …
review by . March 28, 2007
posted in Movie Hype
Pros: Cute script, great cast     Cons: Some people may lose interest quickly     The Bottom Line: Stranger Than Fiction is a cute movie sure to entertain writers of any kind-- especially fiction. Others, however, may lose interest quickly.     Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie''s plot. "This is a story about a man called Harold Crick and his wristwatch." Harold (Will Ferrell) is an ordinary man who works …
review by . March 01, 2007
STRANGER THAN FICTION is one of the more wise, conceptually stunning, finely executed original films to come to the screen in a long time. How this little gem of a film went unnoticed by the Academy is anyone's guess, but viewers' alert: spend an evening viewing this film and new standards for excellence will be set for you.    Director Marc Forster ('Finding Neverland', 'Monster's Ball', 'Stay', 'Everything Put Together') is a director of vision, a man unafraid to tackle testy …
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"Brilliant Script, Superb Direction, Best Ensemble Cast Performance: Why no Oscars?"
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