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Stranger Than Fiction

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

tomatometer

72

Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 170
Fresh: 123 | Rotten: 47

A fun, whimsical tale about an office drone trying to save his life from his narrator, Stranger Than Fiction features a subdued performances from Will Ferrell that contributes mightily to its quirky, mind-bending affect.

69

Average Rating: 6.8/10
Critic Reviews: 39
Fresh: 27 | Rotten: 12

A fun, whimsical tale about an office drone trying to save his life from his narrator, Stranger Than Fiction features a subdued performances from Will Ferrell that contributes mightily to its quirky, mind-bending affect.

audience

82

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 370,796

My Rating

Movie Info

A socially isolated IRS agent whose every move is documented by a disembodied female voice discovers that his life is the subject of a book currently being written by a best-selling author, whose creative block has stunted her repeated efforts to kill him off, in a quirky fantasy comedy written by Hollywood hot property Zach Helm and directed by Finding Neverland's Marc Forester. Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) lives a life of solitude. Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson) can't seem to find a way to finish

PG-13, 1 hr. 53 min.

Drama, Romance, Comedy

Feb 27, 2007

$40.1M

Sony Pictures

Cast

All Critics (171) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (128) | Rotten (48) | 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.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: NPR.org | Comment
NPR.org
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A film well worth seeing and savoring.

November 15, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Observer | Comment
New York Observer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | Comment
Orlando Sentinel
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It seems like the screenwriter may have suffered a shortage of ideas and remedied the problem by watching Charlie Kaufman films.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | Comment
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"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.

March 30, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | Comment
ComingSoon.net

Touching dramedy is heavy; won't interest most kids.

January 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

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.

October 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comment
Suite101.com

"Stranger Than Fiction" is a sterile and pedantic comedy that tells much more than it shows.

August 29, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
ColeSmithey.com

Suggests how cleverness can suffocate people

August 28, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion | Comment
CinePassion

Forster lards over his whimsically feeble film with sentimentality.

April 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | Comment
Boston Phoenix

The special edition Blu-ray disc is a treat, providing several nice extras.

December 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment (1)
Apollo Guide

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.

December 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

... a highly recommended purchase for major fans of the movie.

December 2, 2008 Full Review Source: DVD Review | Comment
DVD Review

It could have been great. But it's just okay.

December 2, 2008 Full Review Source: DVD Review | Comments (3)
DVD Review

What starts out as a complex, intriguing movie turns stale quickly.

November 20, 2008 Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | Comment
Hollywood.com

The movieâ(TM)s unforgivable logical flaws and gummy platitudes donâ(TM)t sink it...thanks to Ferrellâ(TM)s fine and humane performance.

August 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | Comment
Sacramento News & Review

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.

February 28, 2008 Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | Comment
BrandonFibbs.com

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.

September 22, 2007 Comment (1)
KPBS.org

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.

July 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

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.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | Comment
Big Picture Big Sound
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Stranger Than Fiction

Meta sugar. I loved the bus scenes.

March 25, 2007
brooklynspo

Super Reviewer

It's like a version of Groundhog Day written by Charlie Kaufman.

February 1, 2012
Lucas Martins

Super Reviewer

    1. Professor Jules Hilbert: Aren't you glad you're not a golem?
    2. Harold Crick: Yes. I am glad I'm not a golem.
    – Submitted by waverly p (51 days ago)
    1. Karen 'Kay' Eiffel: If only he knew that by wednesday he will die.
    2. Harold Crick: What? Did you who said that?
    – Submitted by Yariv A (2 months ago)
    1. ER Orderly: Are you suffering from something?
    2. Karen 'Kay' Eiffel: Just writer's block.
    – Submitted by Diego T (2 months ago)
    1. Penny Escher: And I supposed you smoked all these cigarettes.
    2. Karen 'Kay' Eiffel: [beat] No, they came pre-smoked.
    3. Penny Escher: [deadpan] They said you were funny...
    – Submitted by Diego T (2 months ago)
    1. Harold Crick: Thank you for forcing me to eat them.
    – Submitted by Diego T (2 months ago)

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