Though most movies can be categorized into one or two genres, “Stranger Than Fiction” requires at least four. The comedy, drama, romance, and fantasy film is due to be released in theaters Friday, November 10.
Director Marc Forester has succeeded in creating an entirely original film about an obsessive-compulsive IRS auditor, Harold Crick, played by Will Ferrell (“Wedding Crashers,” “Talladega Nights”) who one day hears a voice in his head that proceeds to narrate his life. Meanwhile, Karen Effiel, played by Emma Thompson (“Nanny McPhee,” “Love Actually”) writes her newest novel on the life of Crick, completely unaware that her seemingly fictional protagonist actually exists, and that her narration is changing the events of his life.
Though at first he finds it annoying, from Crick’s point of view the narration begins to move his life in a positive direction. Rather than spending his days in solitude, a slave to his routine, he begins living. Attempting to solve the mystery of the voice in his head, Crick meets an expert in literature, Dr. Jules Hilbert, played by Dustin Hoffman (“Finding Neverland,” “Meet the Fockers”). Hilbert persuades Crick to pursue a relationship with Ana Pascal, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Mona Lisa Smile”), a woman he is currently auditing.
However, Crick’s increasingly exciting life takes a dramatic turn when Effiel’s narration informs Crick of his impending death, and he begins a rapid search to find the author controlling his life before the novel is completed.
Joining Ferrell, Hoffman, Thompson and Gyllenhaal in this already star-studded cast is Queen Latifa (“Taxi,” “Chicago”), playing Effiel’s assistant, Penny Escher.
Unlike most movies juxtaposed with Will Ferrell, the film has a meaningful message. The director, Marc Forester, in an interview with Emanuel Levy of The New York Times said, “I saw ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ as the story of a man who’s been asleep for most of his life and suddenly wakes up and realizes he has very little time left and that he has to do something we all would like to do in some way-change our story. I thought it was a fantastic script, a very funny comedy with heart and soul.”
He adds, “I’ve always wanted to try something comedic, but I also try to make films that are not just entertaining, but also emotional and inspiring. I was fascinated by ‘Stranger Than Fiction,’ because I think we all have a narrator in our lives. We all have inner voices in our heads that tell us what to do and how to be. What Harold Crick discovers in the midst of these incredible events is how to escape all that and really begin to enjoy every second of his existence.”
The consensus seems to be that this PG-13 rated film is a must see no matter your favorite genre. Catch “Stranger than Fiction” in theatres Friday.