I am a firm believer that comedic actors can pull off some of the most convincing dramatic roles, but they're rarely ever given the chance. Adam Sandler with "Punch Drunk Love", Jim Carrey with "The Truman Show", Robin Williams with "Good Will Hunting", and most recently with Will Ferrell in "Stranger Than Fiction". I'm glad to see that he's getting another go about it, because he has certainly earned it with me.
Does something really dramatic happen in your life, something that changes your entire path, and then a couple of days later you see a movie that seems to capture everything you've been thinking about. Well for me, it's this movie. Given my current situation, this movie really struck a cord with me. Now i know i shouldn't be partial to a movie just because of my current status, so i did take a step back and observed the movie for what it really was, and yet i still found a pretty damn good picture.
The storyline sets itself inside your head with great ease, and i think that's because you can identify with the main character really well. And i'm not just saying that because of my own personal account, but because Will Ferrell IS a comedic actor, and we have all laughed at him in the past. So seeing him in such dire straights kind of makes us feel for him, which in turn, makes the plot that much brighter.
Now i know most people may walk into this thing expecting to see a laugh out loud comedy. You may find that, but it's more on the serious side with some deep and dark humor. Somewhat similar to what he already did in "Stranger Than Fiction", and once again, he does a great job of selling the character. But this movie does have the perfect dose of both the humor and drama, and it never gets caught up trying to do both at the same time.
However, the one minor problem i did have with the film was the ending. It wasn't bad, but i was looking for a more epic finale'. I know i can't get that all the time, but this movie was pushing forward with such great momentum, and you just wanted this overwhelming sense of atonement by the end. Sure i got some of that, but i could have used a bit more.
Bottom Line, i liked this movie a lot. If offers something different, yet something so very simple at the same time. It's both funny and dramatic, and for me, it gave me somewhat of a catharsis. Will Ferrell really has served up another one. I know it's early in the year, but so far, this is one of the best films i have seen in 2011.
Does something really dramatic happen in your life, something that changes your entire path, and then a couple of days later you see a movie that seems to capture everything you've been thinking about. Well for me, it's this movie. Given my current situation, this movie really struck a cord with me. Now i know i shouldn't be partial to a movie just because of my current status, so i did take a step back and observed the movie for what it really was, and yet i still found a pretty damn good picture.
The storyline sets itself inside your head with great ease, and i think that's because you can identify with the main character really well. And i'm not just saying that because of my own personal account, but because Will Ferrell IS a comedic actor, and we have all laughed at him in the past. So seeing him in such dire straights kind of makes us feel for him, which in turn, makes the plot that much brighter.
Now i know most people may walk into this thing expecting to see a laugh out loud comedy. You may find that, but it's more on the serious side with some deep and dark humor. Somewhat similar to what he already did in "Stranger Than Fiction", and once again, he does a great job of selling the character. But this movie does have the perfect dose of both the humor and drama, and it never gets caught up trying to do both at the same time.
However, the one minor problem i did have with the film was the ending. It wasn't bad, but i was looking for a more epic finale'. I know i can't get that all the time, but this movie was pushing forward with such great momentum, and you just wanted this overwhelming sense of atonement by the end. Sure i got some of that, but i could have used a bit more.
Bottom Line, i liked this movie a lot. If offers something different, yet something so very simple at the same time. It's both funny and dramatic, and for me, it gave me somewhat of a catharsis. Will Ferrell really has served up another one. I know it's early in the year, but so far, this is one of the best films i have seen in 2011.