Rated
PG (Some Crude Comments, Language and Action Violence)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 54 Minutes
Cast-
Ben
Stiller-Walter Mitty
Kristen
Wiig-Cheryl Melhoff
Adam
Scott-Ted Hendricks
Shirley
MacLaine-Edna Mitty
Kathryn
Hahn-Odessa Mitty
Adrian
Martinez-Hernando
Patton
Oswalt-Todd Maher
Sean
Penn-Sean O'Connell
Jonathon
C. Daly-Tim Naughton
Terence
Bernie Hines-Gary Mannheim
Paul
Fitzgerald-Don Proctor
Ólafur
Darri Ólafsson-Drunken Helicopter Pilot
Þórhallur
Sigurðsson-Trawler Captain
Ari
Matthíasson-Trawler 1st Mate
Directed
by Ben Stiller
 |
| Ben Stiller's Walter Mitty finds the titular character turning his fantasies into reality as he embarks on a globe-trotting adventure. |
Note: Screened on Thursday, December 5, 2013 at Regal Union Square Stadium 14.
The
opening scene in Ben Stiller's latest film, "The Secret Life of Walter
Mitty," finds the titular character sitting in his small apartment while
he quietly goes over his latest expenses. Midway through his task, Walter decides
to turn on his laptop and check his eHarmony profile. After running a general search,
he discovers that his co-worker, Cheryl Melhoff, is also on eHarmony, with her profile
stating that she is looking for a man who is adventurous, brave, courageous, and
most importantly, employed. Her likes include her sister and mystery novels
while her dislikes are ironically her sister and internet dating. Walter wants
to send a 'wink' to Cheryl but hesitates at the last second, with his finger
hovering over the button on his keyboard. He finally goes through with it several
minutes later but the website is unable to complete his request. Walter tries again
a few more times, only to receive the same error. Frustrated, he turns off his
laptop and leaves. I don't know if Stiller secretly looked inside my head but
this is a situation that I know all too well. I would be doing my homework when
suddenly this girl, whom I had a deep crush on, would pop up online on AOL Instant
Messenger. With the chat window open, I would agonize for several minutes
(sometimes half an hour) about whether I should initiate a conversation. It's such
a silly thing to worry about in hindsight but I am, at heart, a big romantic and
I suspect Stiller is as well. This is why I ended up enjoying his latest film
in spite of its mixed reception among critics. Its themes aren't exactly subtle
but "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" remains a wonderful, charming
film that's backed up by gorgeous cinematography and a sincere earnestness that
never feels false.
For
the past sixteen years, Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) has been handling and cataloguing
photo negatives as a 'negative assets' manager for LIFE magazine in New York
City. Meek and unassuming, Walter frequently escapes from his humdrum, routine
existence by daydreaming of fantastic adventures and imagining himself as a courageous
hero. However, reality soon comes knocking on his door when he learns from his
co-workers that LIFE magazine is about to be downsized, with the new owners—led
by corporate bean-counter Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott)—choosing to scuttle the print
edition and moving the entire operation online. Layoffs are imminent. Famed photojournalist
Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn) delivers his last batch of photos to Walter and singles
out number twenty-five, revealing in a note that it captures 'the quintessence
of Life' and that it should be used as the cover for the magazine's final issue.
The only problem is that the negative for the photo is missing. To track down
Sean (since he's always on the road and eschews using a cell phone), Walter
enlists the aid of his secret crush Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig). He learns
from her that Sean is in Greenland and decides to put aside his doubts and fears
by personally going after the photographer himself. This leads Walter on a wondrous
journey that will not only inspire him but also change his outlook on life.
Loosely
(and I must really emphasize this word)
based on the 1939 short story by James Thurber and previously adapted for the big
screen in 1947 by director Norman Z. McLeod, Ben Stiller's "The Secret
Life of Walter Mitty" is basically the best commercial that Nike has never
made. It's an oversimplification that's meant to be taken as a compliment. Samuel
Goldwyn, Jr., whose father had produced McLeod's film, originally conceived the
idea of doing a remake in 1994 with Jim Carrey in the title role but the project
ended up languishing in development hell for seventeen years. Directors like Ron
Howard, Steven Spielberg, Mark Waters, and Gore Verbinski came and went, with
the role of Walter Mitty going through a succession of actors that included Carrey,
Owen Wilson, Mike Myers, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Ben Stiller was cast in April 2011
and a mere two months later, was confirmed as director. Although classified as a
remake, it would be more appropriate to call Stiller's version a reimagining.
It is thematically similar to McLeod's adaptation but most of the details have been
changed. Instead of being a pulp magazine editor, Walter is now a lowly office drone
who spends his days handling and cataloguing photo negatives. The only aspect
that writer Steve Conrad (whose previous credits include 2005's "The Weather
Man" and 2006's "The Pursuit of Happyness") takes from Thurber's
sub-2000 word tale is that Walter tends to space out and escape his own banal
existence with flights of fancy. Stiller has a lot of fun with these daydream sequences,
finding the main character rescuing Cheryl's three-legged dog from an exploding
building and engaging in a lengthy, city-wide battle with Adam Scott's smarmy Ted
Hendricks—a scene that would feel right at home in "The Avengers."
The film doesn't always indicate when Walter is lost in one of his fantasies so
a nagging question that you'll get is whether it's all simply one big dream.
Fortunately, Stiller doesn't resort to such an obvious cop-out at the end.
One
line that's repeated throughout the film is LIFE magazine's motto: 'To see things
thousands of miles away, things hidden behind walls and within rooms, things dangerous
to come to, that is the purpose of life.' This is pretty much the theme for
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," with the second half finding the
titular character going on a globe-trotting adventure and turning fantasy into
reality. Many critics have accused Stiller of devolving into calculated schmaltz
but I feel that cynicism has clouded their judgment. This is a film that soundly
rejects cynicism and while the material is lacking in nuance, it makes up for
it with sincere earnestness. From Walter leaping into a rickety helicopter with
a drunken pilot at the helm to him skateboarding toward a massive volcano on
the verge of eruption, the film shows that life doesn't always have to be a dull
routine and that sometimes, you have to risk taking a leap of faith. However,
that doesn't mean you should be reckless. The point is to appreciate life in all
its beauty, something that cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh captures in one gorgeous
shot after another. It truly does add a sense of wonder to Walter's journey.
The scope of the film is huge but Stiller and Conrad keep the stakes grounded.
In hindsight, Walter's quest to locate Sean and the photo negative seems trivial,
considering that he's about to be laid off anyway. However, it's not about the goal;
it's about the newfound sense of purpose he receives from the journey. This is
someone who's worked at the same job for sixteen years, a job he's dutifully performed
without question. Walter will lose his job and he might not even get the girl but
Sean trusted him with his photos and even if it's the last thing he does, he
will fulfill the photographer's last request. I really admire that. Even when
there's no reward waiting at the end, Walter soldiers on because it means
something to him, and life without meaning isn't worth living.
The
performances, while low-key, are wonderful, with Ben Stiller charmingly endearing
as the titular Walter Mitty. It's clear that the actor was immensely passionate
about the role, enough to pull triple-duty by additionally serving as the
film's director and producer. The fact
that his character is unable to work up the courage to speak to his crush
Cheryl and even struggles with sending her a 'wink' on eHarmony was something
that I really identified with. There's a scene where Walter eavesdrops on
Cheryl as she recounts her weekend to her friend. When she jokes about bathing
in arctic mountain water while her Latin lover recited poetry, he imagines
himself as a rugged mountain climber with a seductive Hispanic accent and a 'poetry
falcon' perched on his shoulder. It's a cute moment that reminds us that we've all
daydreamed about wooing our crush while imagining ourselves as someone else. Kristen
Wiig doesn't get as much screen-time as I had I hoped and her character is largely
an ideal but the quiet scenes she shares with Stiller are sweet, especially one
lovely moment where Walter imagines Cheryl serenading him with a soulful acoustic
cover of David Bowie's 1969 song Space Oddity.
Adam Scott, complete with a douchey-looking beard, is appropriately slimy as
Walter's new corporate overlord, although his character does approach being a
caricature at times. Shirley MacLaine and Kathryn Hahn deliver fine supporting
turns as Walter's mother and sister while Sean Penn, in an extended cameo, captures
the world-weary demeanor of someone who's seen it all but can still be amazed
by something as simple as a snow leopard.
Premiering
at the New York Film Festival back in October and set to be released on
December 25, 2013, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" has received
largely mixed reviews with 48% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that 'it doesn't
lack for ambition, but [the film] fails to back up its grand designs with
enough substance to anchor the spectacle.' General audiences will likely be
more receptive toward the picture but any hopes of winning awards have all but
evaporated given its less-than-positive reaction from pundits.
Fortunately, Stiller has had a lot of success this time of year so a $100
million gross at the domestic box office isn't too far from the realm of
possibility. It's not among 2013's best but Ben Stiller's "The Secret Life
of Walter Mitty" remains a marvelous film that's full of whimsy and charm.
It is, on almost all accounts, 'noteworthy and mentionable.'
Final
Rating: 4 out of 5
"Life
is about courage and going into the unknown."
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