SummaryWalter Mitty (Ben Stiller) lives life through his daydreams, but when his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.
SummaryWalter Mitty (Ben Stiller) lives life through his daydreams, but when his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.
The momentum Stiller has built up - his character's globe-trotting derring-do, the care and consideration on display in his directing - carries the movie a long way. Falling short of fantastic, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is still a fantasy to enjoy.
What an underrated master piece. Everytime i feel my life is wasted i watch this movie to gain motivation and do something about that feeling. Its magical, sometimes melancholic.
The one word that most comes to mind in relation to this movie is sentimental, or sentimentality. It is, I suppose, something of a life affirming type movie, although it isn't completely slushy, there's the obligatory love interest and indeed an amusing unlikely friendship that blossoms between Walter and a man who works for eHarmony who phones him, which reminds me of at least one plot hole present in the movie - the fact that he supposedly manages to pick up phone calls from Los Angeles on the top of mountains in foreign countries is ever so slightly far fetched but then this is a movie about someone who ends up doing rather far fetched things and who has, certainly previously, let his far fetched imagine get the better of him, so it'd be a bit ironic to note it down for the lack of realism or believability somehow.
I thought there were some nice, quirky characters in the movie (and one clear villainous character who its hard not to want to goo and hiss at when he's on screen!) - apart from the main character, Walter, another example of a memorable character would be a rather drunk, large macho pub karaoke singer that he comes in contact with in Greenland and eventually, against his better judgement, joins for one part of the adventure, with interesting consequences, put it that way!.
Pace wise, I liked that this movie wasn't too fast and furious or 'in your face', the plot develops at a fairly slow pace but there's plenty to keep us entertained in the meantime and I never felt it had become dull and boring. As far as categorising it is concerned, genre-wise, its certainly not a straight action/adventure movie, or not of the usual type anyway, its insular to the character of Walter himself of course, all about his life and realisation of his need to broaden his horizons and make something of himself in his fairly mundane city surroundings, for the most part. As I say its quite a sentimental movie a, its quite sort of uplifting and poignant in parts - I think people who are similar to the main character should be able to relate to him quite easily and I mainly say that because I felt I could certainly relate to him, with my daydreams and sometimes seeming to have not much to say to my name, which isn't entirely true but I suppose I have lived a fairly modest life, I keep to myself and anyway I felt it was easy to relate to and cheer for this character. I guess if you have to categorise it using the few common genres, I'd say this is maybe more of a slow-ish drama.
Overall, I felt it was certainly quite diverting and I particularly liked the scenes where he drifted off into another daydream, when the fantasy type elements come out, that was fun to watch. As I've already hinted at, there are the almost inevitable plot holes in a movie like this, although it didn't spoil my enjoyment of it. I felt the characters and the CGI used but not over-used, thankfully, helped to make this what I thought was quite a heartwarming and at times, touching movie.
Cast wise, it has to be said that I think Ben Stiller was a particularly good actor to portray Walter, as he does very well (although its nothing new for him, as he's played similar types of characters in the past) in convincingly playing the underdog, a laidback, somewhat affable guy who would be easily over looked on the streets. It may also be worth pointing out that Ben Stiller also directed this movie as well as starring as the main character within it. Kristen Wiig plays Walter's love interest, Cheryl Melhoff, who comes across very much as an every day sort of girl, a nice enough character and indeed it'd be hard not to want them to get together, although I won't be spoiling the movie by saying whether anything happens or not. Its not really a romantic movie as such, its just a sub-plot within the over film. Shirley MacLaine also appears as Walter's cheery mother, Edna.
Content wise, well, this movie carries a PG rating, so clearly there isn't much likely to offend people. I can't really think of anything specifically to mention here, if there's anything likely to offen, it'd perhaps be a sense of it being maybe a bit too over sentimental and schmalt-zy. I was quite impressed with the aerial shots of the foreign landscapes - there's some quite good cinematography present.
There's some good dialogue, some is probably unncessary but some is quite poignant. There are some funny moments too as well as some quite touching moments, with the inclusion of some quotes which appear supposedly written across building walls and in random places, what's said in the quote being acted out in the scenes to a degree, as its quite a sort of symbolic movie I suppose.
Yes I'd recommend this, as I felt it was quite a heart warming, sentimental movie that I felt I could relate to. Its probably not for everyone but if it appeals to you then you shouldn't be disappointed, as it has some good characters and a decent cast.
Impressive landscapes, plus Kristen Wiig's appealing Cheryl, the fellow worker who inflames Walter's passion, make the movie enjoyable enough. Yet its style is a constant bafflement.
This is an ambitious and sometimes effective but wildly uneven adventure that plays like one extended ego trip for Stiller. It feels like a movie by focus group, struggling to find a place between genuinely creative fantasy and audience-pleasing payoff moments.
If, while watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, you start wondering why Ben Stiller is acting strange, the answer comes during the closing credits: "Directed by Ben Stiller."
If I tell you that I paid attention to the majority of the movie and understand most things about it, I would be lying. I don't find the plot that eye-catching but since I was not interested at all, I can exactly blame the movie. But still, I found some scenes funny - like the skate one - and the end, for some reason, touched me. So yeah, props to the movie to make me feel something when I was not giving a damn about it (or at least I think I wasn't).
Read the story when I was younger and didn't like it, now I've watched the movie and the scenes are nice and some of them look like Catty Parry's MV but this all this added up didn't help me to like the movie. Guess I'll skip movies if I don't like the books from now on.
A cliched and silly film full of continuity problems and plot **** dreadful to watch as it has some lovely scenery and a simple, easy to follow plot.
It's a very cliched story in which a boring man with a boring job suddenly quits his job and, with in two weeks, becomes a self-fulfilled, adventurous, interesting, and totally changed man who women swoon over. His early ridiculous daydreams give way to equally ridiculous actual events, which all happen very suddenly and witb little thought for reason or likelyhood.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty should have been heartwarming whimsical movie that I fell in love with, but instead frustrated me to no end. The biggest problem is that none of the characters act in a way that any relatable human being would, which culminates in a near end twist that really took me out of the movie. The parts that are clever or heartwarming come at the expense of being a paint-by-numbers cliche. The dialogue comes off as very awkward, which is intentional, but not the awkward that lends itself to good writing that someone like Joss Whedon can produce. I am sure that I will appreciate the message and the intent behind it, but I was too frustrated and bored to enjoy watching it.
Production Company
Twentieth Century Fox,
TSG Entertainment,
Samuel Goldwyn Films,
Red Hour Films,
New Line Cinema,
Ingenious Media,
Big Screen Productions,
Down Productions