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Rating:
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 her own self involvement to write a "good but not great ending".
+3
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More Stranger Than Fiction reviews
Quick Tip by SheilaDeeth.
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.
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review by shinjiblue.
November 08, 2008
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 … more
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review by MichaelN.
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 … more
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review by arichards.
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. … more
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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, … more
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review by jachism.
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 … more
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review by katknit.
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 … more
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Compliment
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 … more
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review by CRSwanson.
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 … more
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review by LynnHoffman.
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, … more
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About this movie
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
Queen Latifah
Tony Hale Music by Britt Daniel
Brian Reitzell Cinematography Roberto Schaefer Editing by Matt Chesse Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release date(s) November 10, 2006 Running time 113 min. Language English Budget $30 million Gross revenue $40,660,952
view wiki
Theatrical film poster Directed by Marc Forster Produced by Lindsay Doran Written by Zach Helm Starring Will Ferrell
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Dustin Hoffman
Emma Thompson
Queen Latifah
Tony Hale Music by Britt Daniel
Brian Reitzell Cinematography Roberto Schaefer Editing by Matt Chesse Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release date(s) November 10, 2006 Running time 113 min. Language English Budget $30 million Gross revenue $40,660,952
Stranger than Fiction is a 2006 American comedy drama film. The film is directed by Marc Forster, written by Zach Helm, and stars Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, and Emma Thompson. Columbia Pictures distributed the film.[1]
Contents []
- 1 Plot
- 2 Main cast
- 3 Production
- 4 Music
- 5 Awards
- 6 Influences
- 7 Reception
- 8 References
- 9 External links
[edit] Plot
Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is an auditor for the Internal Revenue Service, living his entire life based on the timing of his wristwatch. He is given the job to audit an intentionally tax-delinquent baker, Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal) to whom he is awkwardly attracted. On the same day, he begins hearing the voice of a woman that is omnisciently narrating the events in his life, but he is unable to communicate with the voice. On his way home, Harold's watch stops working and he resets it using the time given by a bystander; the voice narrates "little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his ...
Cast:
Will Ferrell,
Dustin Hoffman,
Queen Latifah,
Emma Thompson,
Oran "Juice" Jones,
Bob Papenbrook,
Tom Hulce,
Bruce Jarchow,
Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Tony Hale,
Linda Hunt,
Danny McCarthy,
Christian Stolte,
Kristin Chenoweth,
Cheryl Lynn Bruce,
T.J. Jagodowski,
William Dick,
Guy Massey,
Martha Espinoza,
Peter Grosz,
Ricky Adams,
Denise Hughes,
Peggy Roeder,
Tonray Ho,
Danny Rhodes,
Helen Young,
David Pompeii,
Linara Washington,
Larry Neumann Jr.,
John Mohrlein,
Bradley Mott,
John Watson, Sr.,
David Wiegers,
Jarret Sleeper,
Karen Lloyd,
Keith Kupferer,
Tab Baker,
Mark Buettner,
Christian Young,
Arraon Hixson,
Bryan Kelly,
Whitney Sneed,
Ray Kurut,
Michael Cook,
Chet Dubowski,
Jordan Keller,
Herb Lichtenstein,
Stacey Jackson,
Jordan Teplitz,
Ricardo Guiterrez,
James Mazza,
Oscar Roxas,
Nadiera Bost,
Sandra Marquez,
Lacy Coil,
Will Clinger,
Albert Samuels,
Frank Caeti,
Andrew Rothenberg,
Rengin Altay,
Lucinda Kemp,
Donna Watkins,
Julien Heron,
Mike McColl
Director:
Marc Forster
Genre:
Comedy,
Drama,
Romance
Release Date:
November 10, 2006
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Screen Writer:
Zach Helm
Runtime:
1hr 53min
Studio:
Sony Pictures
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