Overall Rating: ***
Synopsis:
A tax auditor named Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) lives a monotonous life full of calculated and precise actions. Things go horrible awry when he starts hearing his life narrated by a woman’s voice as he lives it. He soon discovers that the voice blongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a famous author who is suffering from writer’s block and is notorious for killing her protagonists.
Review:
Plot: This one is a comedy and a drama, the all to prevalent dramedy. Unfortunately for Ferrell fans, its heavy on the drama portion. There are some mildly funny moments throughout the movie, but no bust-a-gut/ROTFL moments like in Ricky Bobby. Doesn’t mean it was bad. Its somewhat interesting to see a slightly more serious side to Ferrell.
Acting: I actually enjoyed Emma Thompson a lot. Her character’s fascination with death and approach to writing is terribly awkward and Thompson translates it excelently. Queen Latifah is inconsequential as Eiffel’s assistant. I also liked Maggie Gyllenhaal as liberal activist baker. She’s odd but endearing as Ana Pascal.
Photography/Production: I was really dissappointed with the quality of filming for this movie. I guess my criticism here is not based on personal experience, but how hard can it be to keep a mic boom out of the scene? Maybe its just me, but it seemed a bit sloppy. It ruined it for me a little, because after the first time, my eyes kept getting distracted whenever the mic dipped in to the shot.
Overall: It wasn’t a bad movie, but its not worth a primetime ticket. If you’re a “I must see all Will Ferrell movies on the big screen” kind of fan, then go for a matinee. Personally, I think its amusing enough that its worth a rental when it comes to DVD, but probably not a purchase.