I like quirky little movies. I find them refreshing, particularly when I have had all I can take of things blowing up.
(Don't get me wrong, I love action movies like The Bourne Trilogy, The Die Hard series, Iron Man and James Bond, but I can only take so much of them. And you'll notice that all the movies on that list have a sense of humor. I need humor and a good musical soundtrack. An action movie that doesn't have humor or good music just hurts my head. And my ears.)
But I am a sucker for a good romantic comedy and those seem to be in short supply thesse days. My husband and I tried to find a nice little romantic movie to go to the weekend before Valentine's Day (and the weekend after, as well) and there was not a single one showing in theaters.
So we did what we always do when that happens and we rented something instead.
We first checked out "Stranger Than Fiction" a couple of years ago on a recommendation from our son and we liked it so much that we decided to get it again for Valentine's.
Which is already high praise - we really have to like a movie to watch it more than once.
It is surprising to me that this film is not better known. (None of my friends have even heard of it). It has an all star cast - Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah, and Linda Hunt - and is directed by award winner Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace, The Kite Runner)
I can't give you a description of the plot because the best way to watch the film is to simply let it unfold and take you to unexpected places.
I will mention that I go hot and cold on Will Ferrell as a movie actor - I find him most appealing in roles like this one and Elf, where he is genuinely acting rather than just over the top screwing around. There are a number of comedians whose film performances fall into the category I like to call "The Saturday Night Live Sketch that should only have been 3 minutes long."
"Stranger Than Fiction" won Will Ferrell a Golden Globe nomination for best actor and probably should have earned him an Oscar nomination as well. (But then we know what the Oscars think of romantic comedies.)
So, if, like me, you cannot find a good movie to watch at the theater go out and rent this gem.
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