Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, TSG Entertainment, Samuel Goldwyn Films,
Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine
Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is the magazine guy who is responsible for the photos that get sent in from the field. Somehow he lost shot 25 which the owner has determined should be the last cover before the magazine folds. But Walter is a boring guy, attracted to one of his co-workers Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), but is too shy to approach her. But Walter has a fantastic imagination and spends his days daydreaming of romance, adventure, and excitement.
I just don’t know about Ben Stiller. I really love him at times and in certain movies, but he then comes out with klinker after klinker. I was mildly looking forward to this movie, as I remember fondly reading James Thurber’s short story in Grade School and enjoying the story. I was not impressed with this movie. Technically a remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye film, this is a total update and modernization of the story. But I totally felt “ho-hum” through the whole thing. The snappy wit didn’t come through, and neither did Stiller’s personality. In fact, his sidekick, played by Patton Oswalt, at the office was a lot funnier than he was. Wiig also didn’t have much comedy to do. Now perhaps they weren’t going for comedy, but if they weren’t, I don’t get the point. Probably the best character in the film is the photographer played by Sean Penn. Who would have thought Sean Penn would be the high point in a comedy? But his part is really small and he’s not on-screen very much. This film was just a bad idea and not very well executed which the box office showed, and is another strike for Ben Stiller. This is another case where he tried to do everything, including directing the thing. Maybe that was a mistake. I’m not sure why this was green lighted, but it makes a much better short story than a feature film. I just did not connect with this movie, and I don’t really recommend it. It was a waste of talent.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
