The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Directed by Ben Stiller
A timid magazine photo manager who lives life vicariously through daydreams embarks on a true-life adventure when a negative goes missing.
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A jokey reference to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at one point underlines some similarities to that film, which also mushroomed out of a work of short fiction by an iconic American writer working in a fabulist vein.
There is a whole sequence that’s a The Curious Case of Benjamin Button themed gag about romance and at one point a European mistakes the word “eruption” with “erection”.
In one fantasy scene that recalls the broader, sketch-style comedy of “Tropic Thunder,” Stiller and Wiig spoof, for no apparent reason, “ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button .”
In the midst of this misery, he consoles himself by imagining himself in a bespoke remake of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , reverting to babyhood while Cheryl grows old beside him on the porch.
What we get are gimmicky accents that seem left over from The Ben Stiller Show and random send-ups of cultural artifacts like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button .
There’s an odd throwaway sequence with Stiller and Wiig lampooning “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” then a musical interlude with Wiig serenading Stiller on guitar (a passage that at least advances the plot).
Ben Stiller is perfect for the leading role, with his restraint echoing Jim Carrey's turn in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.
KRISTIAN: Going into “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, I was cautiously optimistic: I’m not the biggest Ben Stiller fan in the world, but the material seemed to lend itself to the possibility of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” territory.
From the perspective of someone who isn't familiar with the short story the film is based on or the original 1947 film, the most appealing aspect of " Walter Mitty " going into it was that it looked very similar to " Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ."
The entire camera work by Stuart Dryburgh, most notable for his work on Jane Campion’s “The Piano” twenty years ago, is smoothly appealing with stunning shots for the audience to sink their teeth into.
This “Mitty” is visually resplendent with some of the best work of cameraman Stuart Dryburgh’s (“The Piano”) career amid eye-catching landscapes.
Bright colors prevail: cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh (“The Piano,” “Lone Star”) seems to be auditioning to shoot the next generation of videos for songs by sigur rós.
What ensues is a touching ode to the wonders of the natural world and a soul-enhancing voyage that has echoes of Fight Club in its rebellion against the concrete-coated corporate world.
As you’re introduced to the world of Ben Stiller’s Walter Mitty you may hear Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durdin from Fight Club whispering in your mind; “the things you own, ending up owning you.”
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Ostensibly a modern-to-the-minute adaptation of James Thurber’s indelible short story, Ben Stiller’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is kind of like if Akira Kurosawa’s “Ikiru” were remade as an 114-minute Super Bowl commercial.
Like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Walter once planned to see the world but family obligations kept him at home.
One of the clever conceits of Steve Conrad’s adaptation of the Thurber story is to incorporate elements from “It’s a Wonderful Life” in it.
Since it's Christmas, I would like to contrast Stiller's Mitty with a true Christmas classic, "It's a Wonderful Life".
Rather than imagine how someone like Terry Gilliam [think “Brazil”] might approach Thurber’s socially ripe source material, they have merely imposed a formulaic script that still doesn’t hit its marks.
In the almost 75 years since Thurber’s story was published, we’ve had plenty of films, everything from Brazil to The Purple Rose of Cairo, that have expressed the sometimes poignant divide between our drab realities and our lively inner worlds.
While Stiller has retained the core spirit of the original story, he’s produced a more modernized, feel-good road movie that’s got a bit of a “Forrest Gump” vibe to it without quite the same heavy-handedness.
Ultimately, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is probably for people who find Forrest Gump profound, and equate who its message to “you can do anything no matter where you come from or who you are” – which is phony, because Gump dumb-lucks his way through life without ever being a real agent of anything except survival.
From there, “Secret Life” becomes a “Forrest Gump”-type excursion into improbability where Walter must test his courage and wherewithal.
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(“Mitty” shares a three-legged dog with Green’s “George Washington.”)
Excited crowds filled the Brooklyn street; three years later, Al Pacino played him in “ Dog Day Afternoon .”