'Stranger Than Fiction' predictable, metaphysical

Sometimes, we become so engrossed in a story and its characters that we actually don't want it to end. This is the case with "Stranger than Fiction," written by newcomer Zach Helm and directed by Marc Forster. Harold Crick (a notably restrained Will Ferrell), the main character, doesn't want the story to end either — because the story is literally his life. Chain-smoking sociopath novelist Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson, seemingly strung out on glue) is actually writing the narrative of Crick's life, and she's bent on having the climax of her latest and greatest opus consist of his poetic demise.

Crick is an IRS agent whose monotonous life is absurdly devoid of meaning, variety or anything that might be of the remotest interest to anyone. Actually, the movie never resolves why his banal life is worthy of the hundreds of pages of Eiffel's novel.

Audiences might be surprised to see Ferrell portraying the pointedly mild-mannered character. Just like Jim Carrey in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" before him, Ferrell is eager to show us he can portray more than obnoxiously loud caricatures and goofy man-children. And this isn't the "Saturday Night Live" alumnus' first outing into "serious" comedy. In fact, his "straight man" act in "Stranger Than Fiction" bears a striking similarity to his turn in Woody Allen's "Melinda and Melinda." These two films, unfortunately, do not demonstrate Ferrell's versatility, rather, they prove how limited his comedic range truly is.

Thompson is in better form, nonchalantly pulling the strings of Ferrell's ill-fated existence. She is, for most of the film, completely unaware that the story she is writing is actually coming true, or that her writer's block is Ferrell's reprieve. Her voice-overs, which playfully describe Harold's life and thoughts, are with us from the very beginning. The novelist's verbal wit is given a 21st-century assist: gratuitous CGI lines, charts and statistics sprawl along the screen, illustrating Harold's algebraic perspective of the world. To his credit, Forster does away with the graphical gimmick — as well as the one-note joke of Ferrell hearing the narration of his own life — just as it begins to get stale. And yet, that move of convenience seems at odds with a script that insists we take the film as more than just fluff. Harold's awareness of Kay, then, lies awkwardly between a punch line and a metaphor, though the oscillation between the two is remarkably fluid.

Kay's assistant (Queen Latifah) and a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman) try to untangle exactly what kind of a story Harold inhabits. Latifah, like Ferrell, has toned down her comic exuberance to the point of one-dimensionality and humorlessness; it is remarkable that Forster has effectively neutered two legendary comedic bombasts in one film.

Hoffman adds little nuance to a part that is poorly conceived. Implausibly, he taught an entire seminar on the phrase "little did he know," buys wholly into Harold's apparent narrative delusions and eventually jumps off the deep end into what might be called literary absolutism — the philosophy that the written word is more important than all else in the universe, including human life. Of course, we don't accept that, and ultimately neither does the rest of Hollywood, for that matter.

"Stranger Than Fiction" is a case study in Hollywood metaphysics. The film is self-consciously chock full of recurring Tinseltown themes: carpe diem (after revelation of fatal illness/imminent /doom), free will triumphing over fate and love triumphing over all. As Harold becomes aware of the narration to which only the audience is initially privy, the notion of narrative continuity and an author's omniscience is questioned and explored. And make no mistake — any originality and complexity of theme in "Stranger Than Fiction" is purely a function of Helm's screenplay. Forster is competent; he doesn't get in the way of the script, but neither does he augment or enhance it. For better or worse, it is Helm's game.

Like any quirky Hollywood film with ambition, however, one can have a completely satisfying experience without thinking about any of those issues. Perhaps that is a liability — as it prevents one from taking "Stranger Than Fiction" too seriously — or perhaps that is its main strength. "Stranger Than Fiction" will likely be an enjoyable experience worthy of your time and money. But that doesn't mean I can wholeheartedly recommend it. The film works best when your mind is half-on — too much attention to the premise and the film becomes absurd; too little, and it becomes just another comedy.

Paws:

3.5/5

Pros:

very funny and entertaining; unique twist on genre conventions; Ferrell only screams twice

Cons:

absurd, unexplained premise; surprisingly superficial conclusion; Ferrell only screams twice