Dir: Ben Stiller
Release: 26 December ’13
Rating: PG
It’s a short story that I analysed to death in Higher English a terrifying ten years ago, so when I saw that it had been given the Hollywood treatment yet again with Ben Stiller taking on both the lead role and directorial duties, I had to see what the latest cinematic take on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was all about.
Based on the James Thurber favourite, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty tells the tale of an unassuming American man with an overactive imagination. Taking inspiration from his dull surroundings, Walter goes on huge adventures in his mind, a million miles away from his quiet humdrum life.
The new movie adaptation (the last one, starring Danny Kaye, was made in 1947) takes the basics of the tale – the normal man with the big imagination – and gives it a more up to date twist. In other words, it’s nothing like the original.
Walter (Ben Stiller) works for Life magazine in New York, where he spends his day in a dark room dealing with photograph negatives. He’s single, he lives alone and his biggest worries are making sure his mum is happy in her nursing home and getting her prized piano moved in with her – so he takes to daydreaming to tackle the boredom. Quite often these daydreams involve woo-ing his pretty new colleague Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), showing up colleagues and generally being a total hero. But, of course, Walter’s dream state alter-ego is far braver than the real thing.
That is until the magazine is bought over and Walter’s job is hanging in the balance – even more so when one of the magazine’s best photographers sends in a fantastic photo for the cover and… It goes missing. Walter finds himself on a real life adventure to track down the image, with a little bit of help from Cheryl – and it’s a lot more exciting than anything he could’ve dreamt of. Gradually, his zoning out ceases and he grabs life with both hands and starts living.
The movie’s been 20 years in the making, with various directors, writers and actors attached to the project. So was it worth the wait?
The special effects have definitely benefited from the additional time, such as the scene where Walter’s swimming with sharks and trekking through the Himalayas. It’s good too to see Stiller in a part which is quite different from his usual goofball role, and it’s interesting to see him as the director – he’s created a pretty impressive film, visually. But it’s almost like there’s something missing. The film just trundles along to the end, which is – without spoiling anything – just a little bit schmaltzy and sweet. Despite the high-action scenes, it does feel a bit gentle. The laughs are low-key, the plot twists more like easy bends and it just doesn’t feel as big as it could’ve been.
To sum it up in one word? Maybe ‘nice’. If you like your cinema easy-going, this is the one for you.
[rating=3]
