All Critics (171)
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Top Critics (39)
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Fresh (128)
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Rotten (48)
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DVD (22)
The actors and the filmmakers all take a more restrained approach than you might expect, keeping the humor gentle, and the jokes mostly as literary as the premise.
A film well worth seeing and savoring.
Stranger Than Fiction seems like an old episode of the Twilight Zone, and the idea would have worked better as one of Rod Serling's half-hour epistles on human foibles.
It doesn't coast on its premise but follows where it leads, which is into some serious territory. What might have been a joke with a tagged-on sentimental ending becomes instead a sensitive movie that affirms the value of life.
Willfully eccentric, odd in tone, it is an English major's comedy, a wry exploration of plot, narrative, character and a writer's imprint on her or his work.
It seems like the screenwriter may have suffered a shortage of ideas and remedied the problem by watching Charlie Kaufman films.
"It's not the best piece of English literature of the last ten years," Dustin Hoffman says of Emma Thompson's newest novel, "but it's not bad." That just about sums up Stranger Than Fiction, too.
Touching dramedy is heavy; won't interest most kids.
Inventively inverting "Adaptation.'s'" anxiety into light romance, "Fiction" is one of the most intelligent, lively, charming and beguiling concept comedies since "Groundhog Day" and a perfect seriocomic splinter of Will Ferrell's big-baby shtick.
"Stranger Than Fiction" is a sterile and pedantic comedy that tells much more than it shows.
Suggests how cleverness can suffocate people
Forster lards over his whimsically feeble film with sentimentality.
The special edition Blu-ray disc is a treat, providing several nice extras.
Some of Will Ferrell's biggest fans might find it overly tame and subtle, but it's interesting, enjoyable and a revelation to see he can keep his pants on and still entertain.
... a highly recommended purchase for major fans of the movie.
It could have been great. But it's just okay.
What starts out as a complex, intriguing movie turns stale quickly.
The movieâ(TM)s unforgivable logical flaws and gummy platitudes donâ(TM)t sink it...thanks to Ferrellâ(TM)s fine and humane performance.
Stranger Than Fiction is not a fluff film. Far from it. Literate and engaging, it may parade around in nonsensical clothes, but just scratch the surface and a vast reservoir of post-modern existentialism is revealed.
The place where the film runs into problems is in trying to decide, like Harold, as to whether or not it is a comedy or a tragedy. As we know, comedy sells much better and that's the direction the film leans.
Strong performances and an interesting-enough script make Stranger Than Fiction an enjoyable night at the movies, even if the logic breaks down in places and the ending feels disingenuous.
Though there are enough interesting moments to keep it refreshing, Mr. Helm's script never rises above its conceit to reach the giddy Charlie Kaufman heights to which it aspires.
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