If I thought Wednesday’s “Saving Mr. Banks” was a fanciful,
emotional tale, I was ill prepared for Thursday’s flick, which beat me bloody
with the whimsy stick. Well, maybe not a stick, but perhaps a unicorn horn.
Synopsys: Ben Stiller (looking Zoolander hot) plays perennial
daydreamer Walter Mitty, whose eyes go blank mid sentence as he fantasizes. He
works in “negative assets” (photography) at Life Magazine, which has been taken
over by a bizarrely bullying Linconesque bearded character played by Adam Scott.
Scott’s character constantly hounds Stiller, who is in search of Negative 25,
sent by the magazines legendary photographer who called the shot the
“quintessence of life.” Mitty is responsible for it, and it is lost. Soon the fantasies make way for reality
as Mitty goes in search of the photographer, played by a rugged Sean Penn.
Meanwhile, the object of Mitty’s affection, played by Kirsten Wiig, is in his thoughts
as he cavortes from one adventure to the next in search of Negative 25.
Review: See this movie! The visuals are stunning and a bunch
of it takes place in Iceland, which naturally, makes it awesome. There are many
stirring scenes of Stiller running, and jumping, and…talking to Patton Oswald,
an E-Harmony representative, about livening up his profile. Ok, that got a little
weird, as was the payoff, but it did include a scene at Cinnabon, which is
always a plus.
Shirley Maclaine, as Mitty’s mother, plays a pivotal role in
helping Mitty solve the mystery on Negative 25, which leads Mitty to Greenland,
Iceland, and “ungoverned Afghanistan” in the Himalayas, where he finally tracks
down Sean Penn, busy taking photographs of snow leopards. We learn that Mitty
had 25 all along, it was in the wallet that Sean Penn had sent Mitty as a gift
for all his work over the years (remember, Life is shuttering), which of
course, Mitty had thrown away in frustration, as it just reminded him of everything
in life he has NOT done. Mitty
goes back to New York, in time to clean out his office and, after a visit at
his mother’s, discovers that she dug the wallet out of the trash! In it still
remains the elusive Negative 25! Hurray! Mitty storms the offices of Life and
confronts the Bearded Boss Asshole, gives him the negative, and tells him not
to be a dick. Sweet.
Later, while collecting his last check at the office, Mitty
spies Kristen Wiig, and the two stroll outside together and make a date. It’s
summer in New York, and everything is beautiful and you wish you were with
them. They walk by a newsstand, and peek at the last issue of Life. We have
still not seen that damn photo 25. Will it be reveled????? Yes, and it’s sweet
and romantic and whimsical, just like the movie. It is also another moment that
makes you tilt your head and go “Huh. Ok.” Just like the movie.
Adaptation is toughest form of filmmaking. I know this first
hand as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was the first movie I ever made (for a
10th grade English project- DISASTER. Mostly because I failed to
operate my dad’s gigantic 80’s camcorder correctly and ended up recording all
of the rehearsals and not the final “takes.” I spent the evening attempting to
edit with only a VCR and a blank cassette. My group was not amused.) So I can
say with all honesty, Stiller’sa version is one of the best!