"Stranger Than Fiction" is a sterile and pedantic comedy that tells much more than it shows.
CommentAug 29, 2009
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
72
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:166
Fresh:120
Rotten:46
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: A fun, whimsical tale about about an office drone trying to save his life from his narrator. The cast obviously is having a blast with the script, but Stranger Than Fiction's tidy lessons make this metaphysical movie feel like Charlie Kaufman-lite.
Theatrical Release: Nov 10, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $40.1M
Synopsis: An IRS auditor has his life interrupted by the sound of a personal narrator who knows his every thought, feeling and action, including when and where... [More]
Starring: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah
Director: Marc Forster
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REVIEWS FOR STRANGER THAN FICTION
Suggests how cleverness can suffocate people
Aug 28, 2009
Forster lards over his whimsically feeble film with sentimentality.
Apr 23, 2009
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.
Dec 3, 2008
It could have been great. But it's just okay.
Dec 2, 2008
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Nov 20, 2008
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.
Oct 18, 2008
Top CriticThe movie’s unforgivable logical flaws and gummy platitudes don’t sink it...thanks to Ferrell’s fine and humane performance.
Aug 7, 2008
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.
Feb 28, 2008
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.
Sep 22, 2007
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.
Jul 14, 2007
No es ni una comedia, ni una tragedia, ni una historia de amor, ni una fábula. Es ni más ni menos que una idea original mal desarrollada, que no entretiene lo suficiente y que conduce a ninguna parte.
Apr 17, 2007
Stranger Than Fiction never rises above its eye-catching premise, ending up as nothing more than a great idea with absolutely nowhere to go.
Mar 24, 2007
An endearing comedy about the spiritual transformation of a rigid, shy, and lonely I.R.S. agent whose life is upended by forces beyond his control.
Mar 6, 2007
Stranger Than Fiction has a self-regard that can grate, but Ferrell and Thompson give winning performances that suggest the film's aim is true.
Feb 9, 2007
An uncommonly plastic bit of Hallmark sentiment-mongering, with exactly the kind of New Age psychobabble ending you’d expect.
Feb 3, 2007
Ferrell rules in this film. I take back my words of prejudice. This is the smartest film in town.
Jan 26, 2007
Writer's block has never been so entertaining.
Jan 25, 2007
It's a shame that Stranger Than Fiction doesn't quite sustain its premise, but it's so entertaining that you might not even notice.
Jan 24, 2007
A concept film, but wow, what a concept!
Jan 13, 2007
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