“Oh dear sweet Lord I am behind on this post. Not a good way to start the new year by being nearly two weeks late, but my shiny new posting strategy ended up being not so reliable. Oops.
I’d intentionally kept this film in my back pocket all thru my Texas vacation, in case there were any movie invites from Mom’s church friends (it’d happened the year before). It actually almost happened, but ended up being a bit too late in the game to pull off. No matter. Turns out that then guaranteed that my first weekend of the new year wouldn’t be a movie-less one.
The premise sounded like a fun and whimsical movie. Walter Mitty supplements his mediocre real life with an over the top fantasy life, until he’s thrown into an unexpected adventure. The visualization of these fantasies was beautiful. But something on the plot side of things just fell short for me. A big part of that could be faulted by expectations. I was waiting for a specific twist that never came, and I was trying to draw out more mystery where there was none. The fantasy element made it difficult for me to invest in what was real, because I kept thinking that it was all a dream we were gonna be snapped out of.
I also felt like the film got off on the wrong foot. It can be tricky to set the unfulfilled and mundane mood of the world that Walter lived in, and this result ended up being awkward. Adam Scott (whom I normally adore) didn’t really help matters being overly negative and overbearing in his bullying. But I did feel that Ben Stiller portrayed Walter well. I’ve always prefered him as a dramatic actor with comedic instincts than as a full on comedian, and this was a chance for him to shine. From what we saw of Kristin Wiig in this film, I have a feeling I may start thinking the same about her. While she is fantastic as a character actress, I much preferred the real performance she gave here.
So maybe the year could have started off better. But I’m certainly looking forward to where it’ll go from here
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – \m/ \m/ \n