The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

I'm not sure where exactly it happens - because, in the beginning, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is sort of boring and preposterous - but, somewhere along the line, it becomes a very good movie. In fact, it becomes one of the best movies I've seen this year. It's a movie that is smart and funny, adventurous and visually stunning.

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a forty-something daydreamer who works at Life Magazine in the photography department. Evil bearded Ted (Adam Scott, mean and hilarious) announces Life Magazine is moving online and will be publishing their final issue with a negative from famed photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn). The only problem? Walter seems to have lost the negative. So, with urging from a pretty co-worker he's crushing on (Kristen Wiig), Walter embarks on an actual adventure, instead of just one that plays in his head. He starts following a few very vague clues and ends up at a dive bar in Greenland where he soon heads on a helicopter to a boat in the middle of the ocean. I guess, this is where the movie finally gets good because, from there, it's nearly non-stop adventure as Walter travels the world, meets interesting people and does amazing things.

This film was also directed by Stiller, and is based on a story I haven't read. When I first saw the previews, I was truly excited to see this film. The redundancy of which I saw that trailer sort of made me start to groan every time I saw it after a while, but I was still excited for the movie. And it didn't disappoint. I read somewhere that Stiller nailed the comedic aspect of the film, but didn't really sell the more dramatic parts. I disagree with that. I thought Stiller nailed the shy, reticent, day dreamer. Actually, I thought all of the performances were great, especially since almost all of the actors in this movie are more well known for comedy than anything else. But, they all gave pretty well-rounded performances. Of course, I'm the biggest Sean Penn fan in the world, and I think his small scene near the end is, far and away, the highlight of the film. The moment between Sean and Walter near the end is an absolutely beautiful scene.

Another great thing about the movie is the visuals. I don't know if it had a lot to do with Stiller as a director, per se, or if he just managed to find truly beautiful places to shoot, but the cinematography is stunning. From the run down charm of Greenland to the majestic Himalayas to skateboarding through the rolling fields of Iceland, every scene on Walter's journey is gorgeous to look at.

Of course, the real theme of the movie has to do with finding someone to connect to (which has been in a theme in a lot of movies I've watched this year), and Stiller and Wiig sell that aspect of the film as well. They have great playful, awkward chemistry. The movie may start on the slow side, but it certainly picks up and becomes a truly great movie going experience. I'm not usually one for "nice" movies, but this is definitely a very sweet, very heartwarming, nice movie.

Grade: B+