It has a nifty premise and outstanding performances from Ferrell, as the protagonist-in-progress, and Emma Thompson, as his blocked creator.
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11/10/06
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Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
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Reviews Counted:165
Fresh:119
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: $40,137,776
Synopsis: One morning, a seemingly average and generally solitary IRS agent named Harold Crick begins to hear a female voice narrating his every action, thought and feeling in alarmingly precise detail.... [More]
Starring: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman
Director: Marc Forster
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Reviews for Stranger Than Fiction
Top CriticStranger Than Fiction may not be the typical crowd-pleaser, but it's a sweet, funny, intelligent film that showcases just how much Ferrell can do, even when he's doing less.
11/10/06
Stranger Than Fiction is odd and eccentric, but in the end it finds its heart. After all, if there’s hope for a drone like Harold Crick, there’s hope for all of us.
11/10/06
Stranger Than Fiction might be film, but it moves like a novel: a literate, unhurried tale marked by softly wrought reflections on the self-made life.
11/10/06
So, in lieu of the usual cookie-cutter movie, we at least get the cookie itself, a nice-light treat.
11/10/06
Much as it strives to be an intelligent story about intelligent people, Stranger Than Fiction is basically Adaptation for Dummies.
11/10/06
A wondrously funny modern fairy tale, Stranger than Fiction manages to blend romance, satire and fantasy into a story that's both fully satisfying and patently absurd.
11/10/06
A comedy that takes itself too seriously to be truly enjoyed.
11/10/06
Top CriticWhile some of the film's literary motifs and devices might at first be a bit confusing, on whole it's pretty amusing and rewarding — and certainly one of the better vehicles to star Will Ferrell.
11/10/06
[Director Marc] Forster's sweetly engaging concoction bends our minds without too much strain, and even those moments that feel mildly familiar never breed anything close to contempt.
11/10/06
Top CriticWill Ferrell delivers a moving and surprisingly delicate -- though not so surprisingly funny -- turn as the lonesome bureaucrat bedeviled by a voice only he hears.
11/10/06
Stranger Than Fiction just might be the most cunning comedy of the year.
11/10/06
Stranger Than Fiction is uptight. [Writer Zach] Helm is clearly pro-love and happy endings, but he's short on loose, fresh ideas.
11/10/06
Top CriticBesides being inventive and witty, Stranger Than Fiction is a tribute to the power of literature. But art is not its only domain. It also delves into the world of ultimate certainties: death and taxes.
11/10/06
While Stranger Than Fiction traffics in a bit of darkly funny existential anxiety, it also finds room for romantic fantasy and sentimental uplift.
11/10/06
Top CriticTake a cool premise, a smart director and a top-flight cast, then throw an ex-TV sketch comedy knucklehead into the mix - and voila, a thinking person's dramedy that grapples with issues of fate and free will, love and liberation. Look out, Oscars.
11/10/06
Stranger Than Fiction is a poetic and thoughtful rummage through the cosmic closet with a comic actor best known for less intelligent fare. Now that's stranger than fiction.
11/10/06
If Stranger Than Fiction has a central flaw, it's overly sentimental. Although the story would work better as a tragedy, Forster and Helm can't resist tacking on a mushy love story, involving Crick and combative tax cheat Ana Pascal.
11/10/06
Top CriticIt's feel-good for real, uplifting in a meaningful way, and I loved it.
11/10/06
A decent premise caves under scrutiny, exposing (Fiction) as one long setup that lacks a punch line.
11/10/06
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