It is a rare thing for me to recommend a movie by any former SNL actors unless it is for something classically inane such as Tommy Boy, but I will make an exception for Stranger than Fiction, a 2006 film starring Will Ferrell. And unlike some of his other…eh uhm…”classics,” Stranger than Fiction actually has good acting, a good plot, and meaningful themes worth contemplating.
If you have ever wondered if Will Ferrell can actually act and not just crack jokes or run around half-naked making fun of his own physique, then put those questions to rest. Stranger than Fiction shows that Ferrell can actually act and it made me wish that he were in more movies like this containing substance and good writing. The first time I watched the movie, I do have to admit, I kept waiting for him to do something stupid or outright zany (yes, I said “zany”), but once I got over that stereotypical expectation and watched the movie for what it was, I found myself actually enjoying Will Ferrell and his character.
Stranger than Fiction tells the story of Harold Crick, played by Will Ferrell, who one day finds out that he is the main character in a writer’s novel-in-progress. He hears a voice narrating his every move and interaction. It is when Crick hears the narrator speak of his impending death that he embarks on a race to find the author before she kills him off. He finds Professor Jules Hilbert a college professor played by Dustin Hoffman who helps him realize the truth. As Hilbert says, “No one wants to die, Harold, but unfortunately we do. Harold, you will die someday, sometime. Heart failure at the bank. Choke on a mint. Some long, drawn-out disease you contracted on vacation. You will die. You will absolutely die. Even if you avoid this death, another will find you and I guarantee that it won’t be nearly as poetic or meaningful as what she’s written.”
Crick eventually meets the author, played by Emma Thompson, and asks her not to kill him. While Hoffman introduces us to the nature of death, it is Thompson and Ferrell’s interactions that confront us with the real issue in this film: destiny and freedom, or for those more theologically inclined, predestination and free-will. And while I may not agree with every conclusion the movie makes regarding death, meaning, destiny, and freedom, this film is a gem with many delightful moments as well as a well written script exploring some deep questions with which nearly every person struggles.
With its rating of PG-13 Stranger than Fiction (Available on Amazon Prime Video) is certainly a film the entire family can watch, but it is not one that should be quickly turned off and left undiscussed with children – or adults for that matter.
