College Girl brought this 2006 movie
Will Ferrell's performance is restrained (as an IRS agent), if you can believe it. He is joined by Emma Thompson (the novelist) and Queen Latifah (sent by her publisher to be her assistant), as well as Dustin Hoffman (a college professor of English), Maggie Gyllenhaal (owner of a bakery being investigated by Ferrell)...and there are interesting special effects (GUIs) (Graphic User Interface).
The basic premise is that Ferrell finds himself as a character in a life that is narrated by someone writing his story. And then he learns through this voice that his death is imminent. He goes to see a psychiatrist who says he is schizophrenic and wants him to take medication. And what if he is not schizophrenic and does not want to take medicine -- then she supposed she'd send him to someone who knows literature. (I thought that was clever.)
Meantime the writer, whose novels always end in death for the main character, cannot decide how to kill him. The professor narrows down the possible writers. Side stories are neatly tied into the main story (young boy on a bike and young woman who gets a new job.) And Ferrell and Gyllenhaal find love.
How they find it; how Ferrell's life changes; then, how the writer ends the story and the final words were inspiring.
I found it to be quirky and endearing.
Have you seen it? Did you like it?
Karin
Originally posted 2007-08-19 19:59:52.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Karin,
I saw the movie when it was released and quite liked it- as a comedy it was refreshing…ofcourse loved Emma Thompson! Have you read Sophie’s world- conceptually similar to stranger than fiction(not in content but in format) ..I read it in undergrad and loved the concept and the twist..
No, I’ve not read that.
It was refreshing, wasn’t it! I liked seeing the extras where they talked about how they came up with the idea of showing his thinking in GUIs.
I could see where it was heading and why the book would seem ‘best’ with his death and wondered how they would work out an alternate ending that would be more satisfying.
Emma Thompson sure can show herself in an unflattering light and maintain character through it all. Not at all in the same character, but as far as maintaining it, Renee Zellweger did in Nurse Betty too.
But I have to say Ferrell’s restrained performance was delightfully unexpected.