Stranger Than Fiction (***1/2)

? IRS auditor Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) can’t get rid of a voice in his head narrating his every thought and action. Turns out he’s the main character in a novel whose depressed author (Emma Thompson) is trying to overcome a serious case of writer’s block.

+ Turns out that Ferrell can do more than just be goofy. His Harold Crick, who does the same things at the same time in the same way each day, probably wouldn’t watch Will Farrell movies, let alone appear in one. Crick’s involuntary transformation into book character forces him to think about his quotidian life. Maggie Gyllenhaal, appealing as the hippie chick who gradually decides Mr. Crick is a decent guy even if he does represent the feds, might also have something to do with that. Meanwhile, the death-obsessed author played by Thompson is doing some searching of her own, aided by the assistant (Queen Latifah) her publisher has foisted on her. First-time screenwriter Zach Helm brings out the pathos in all of these people, with the humor keeping things from becoming maudlin.

- It’s not fair to criticize a movie for its ad campaign, or its star’s previous roles, but it’s probably worth mentioning that people who saw only the preview or who expect this to be similar to other Ferrell movies might be disappointed that it’s not funnier. There are certainly comic moments, but “comedy-drama” best describes the genre. The plot paints itself into a corner in which the possible endings seem too dour or too trite, and splits the difference. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but certainly the first half of the movie is stronger.

= ***1/2 Helm, the writer, seems to be evoking a lot of comparisons to Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), but even though the Stranger Than Fiction premise is nearly as outlandish as one of Kaufman’s, the execution seems more conventional. I think some people who found Being John Malkovich or Eternal Sunshine too aggressively weird (I loved both) may still enjoy this sweet-natured charmer.

IMDb link