I’m all smiles reading the reviews of this movie, likely posted by the same people who gave “thumbs up” to Inside Llewyn Davis! They got it wrong, on both counts.
To be clear; I’m saying, movie critics have little value, in my humble opinion.
Let me also clarify these facts: We saw “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” today and last weekend, we saw Inside Llewyn Davis. One was fun, one was not so much!
Walter Mitty was predictably corny, sweet, and stupid, which can also be said, I suppose, for Ben Stiller. You know what you’re in for, before you go. It matters little to me that the whole thing was ridiculous. If a movie makes me feel something, in this case, inspired to become a better writer and take up photography again very soon, then I win. This was the case for me, because I went in with a curiosity about how anyone could properly represent the classic Thurber story (one of my favorites). I quickly learned it could not be done. So, I resigned myself to simply enjoying some entertainment.
Contrast that with the other film, which made me want to hang myself about a minute into the drama.
Last year, at Christmas, we saw, Les Misérables and as expected, that’s how I felt about the experience. So many hours of my life are now irretrievable, for the sole purpose of seeing a classic represented in song and drama. History lesson, Homeric heroism, some pretty good actors and a few pretty girls still did not justify the waste of time.
Well, humbug, I really don’t know how to wrap this up from here. I’m glad they won’t be making a movie of the Catcher in the Rye (my favorite book). I’m happy I saw and enjoyed Walter Mitty, even if I correctly guessed the “surprise” ending. If nothing else, I may do some research on the end of Life magazine, which figured prominently into the story line.
Merry Christmas to you.
Brian,
Our family tradition is to go to a movie opening ON Christmas day. It began in the 80s when a daughter went home on that day and we went to the movie, "Out of Africa", to get through the rest of the day without her. Most years we find one that is pleasurable. Being we are in small Iowa town one year "Hoffa" was the choice…not so much. This year the adults went to see "Wolf…" and I went to Mitty with my 10 year old granddaughter. She evidently saw previews on tv because she went willingly and said she wanted to see it. She never left her seat during the movie, liked it and wished the scenes of his daydreams could be true……The satisfying parts in the movie were the scenery (either Greenland or Iceland), the lack of sex and lack of violence. Just a sweet story with Ben Stiller to please the crowd…I liked reading your take.
Well, how nice! Thanks for your comment. It's comforting to know somebody is reading my writing. Does Clear Lake freeze in the winter? Should make for some nice skating.
Add me to a circle on Google+ ; I'll keep you posted.
Thank you for writing and sharing this