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Playing "Stranger" Straight by Mike-oh

Harold Crick sits in silent contemplation, wondering how long he can delay his demise by doing absolutely nothing.

Stranger Than Fiction. When I first saw this trailer several months ago, I knew instantly, instinctively, that I would love this movie. Of course, Will Farrell caught my attention. But it was the premise that inspired me. Stranger Than Fiction is a story about an overly average guy named Harold Crick (Farrell) who, one day while brushing his teeth, hears a voice no one else can hear, that is narrarating his life. At first it is making him a little crazy until he hears the narrarator announce that he is soon to die.

As the story unfolds, a famous author is struggling with writers block and trying desperately to find the perfect way to kill her main character. Who, as fate would have it, is in reality, Harold Crick, a man who is now very obsessed with learning more about the voice he is hearing and what he might be able to do to change the story of his life.

He seeks help from a psychiatrist to no avail. But finds help from the University's resident literary expert, played to perfection by Dustin Hoffman. The literary expert attempts to break down the circumstances to determine if this story is going to be a comedy or a tragedy. The answer to this question seems to hinge on the girl that Harold has recently met. If she falls in love with him then it's a comedy. If she hates him, it's a tragedy. Along the way, Harold learns that the only way to save his life is to start taking a hand in how his own personal story is written.

This story is magical, marvelous, magnificent, and miraculous. A great cast, including Emma Thompson, Queen Latifa, Dustin Hoffman, and Will Farrell, do such a great job of selling the premise that there is no escaping it's surreal hold on your attention and affection from the very beginning to the marvelously sad and happy ending.

It's a story about art and literature, love and living, learning, caring, and being connected to the people in our world. And as much as I knew in advance that I would enjoy the film, I was not prepared for it's full impact. I expected a slightly madcap comedy with Will Farrell as the lead comedian. But it's not like that at all. Farrell plays it totally straight with just a hint of that cute innocence that he did so well in Elf. Instead of a whacky Farrell performance, we were treated to a real story with real characters that charmed as much as they entertained. The movie is funny to be sure, but the characters are so easy to love that the laughs take a backseat to the sentiment.

Above all else, Stranger Than Fiction is a testament to the power of creative storytelling. And even though this was taken from a book of the same name, I found the movie to particularly perfect for the movie screen. Describing in a book a disembodied voice coinciding with one's life events and the subsequent reaction to that is a situation that is made for the movies. I'm glad they made this one for the movies.

So, what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Give us your feedback.