Fiction proves strange indeed

November 20, 2006 —

Will Ferrell may be an unofficial king of comedy, but Stranger Than Fiction is no comedy. Don't be fooled by the clever premise of a man (Ferrell as the hapless Harold Crick) who is the character of a novel and who can hear the author's voice narrating his life. Sure, it sounds like a comedy, but if that's what this movie is, then it's a rather dark comedy.

After all, the conflict comes when author Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson) struggles to find a satisfactory way to kill off Mr. Crick. The movie centers on Crick worrying about his imminent death, all the while unsure how to prevent it. So he goes about his daily routines fearing that he could die at any moment.

Now that doesn't sound like a comedy at all. Sure, there are some funny moments scattered throughout Stranger Than Fiction, but nothing like what fans of Ferrell's movies are used to seeing.

There's a good chance that some moviegoers will be turned off by the strangely docile performance that Ferrell turns in. He's not animated at all, and through 80 percent of the movie he's pretty emotionless. It's clear that this role was intended to show that Will Ferrell is an actor, not just the goofy guy who stormed Studio 8H a decade ago and grew to become a household name synonymous with funny.

But is Ferrell as the serious actor the right move? Sure. I mean, he's done it before. Check out Melinda and Melinda. It's a Woody Allen movie from a couple years ago and Ferrell takes on a semi-serious role in that film.

Stranger Than Fiction is something entirely different, though.

This movie is enjoyable but hard to take seriously. Mixed into the man-as-character-in-novel plot is a love story, and this is the real heart of the film. Forget the woman who is writing a story about a loser named Harold Crick - the eccentric Emma Thompson is actually the one thing I did not like about the movie - and focus instead on the relationship between Crick and Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal).

The two stories don't mesh all that well. On its own, the love story would be a pretty good movie, ideal for a serious Ferrell. Furthermore, on its own, the real- life novel story would be a pretty good movie, ideal for a zany and over-the-top Ferrell.

Had this been an all out comedy, it would have succeeded. As it stands, it is just a movie with loads of potential and little payoff.

Stranger Than Fiction isn't going to make me forget that Jim Carrey is a great dramatic actor on top of being a pretty good comedian. The movie also won't make me forget that Ferrell is the exact opposite.

Overall, as Dustin Hoffman's character says near the end of the film, "It's okay - not bad."

But it's certainly not the comedy that a lot of people have been expecting.