The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

Though not synonymous outside of the US, you've probably heard someone described as a "Walter Mitty type character", the inference being that person is a bit of a dreamer who imagines a fantasy life which they could never possibly lead. Ben Stiller's new film (his first as director in five years) pretty much follows this fantastical template, though it's only loosely based on James Thurber's original short story from the 1930's. In this version Mitty (Stiller) works in the photography department of a soon to be closed magazine and finds himself on a mission to locate a missing photo negative that has been mooted to be the front cover of the last ever issue. Before long Mitty is day dreaming of adventures that take him far and wide in pursuit of said negative. The film has plenty of entertaining moments (look out for the great scene where Mitty pulls off a series of cracking tricks on a skateboard whilst love interest Cheryl (Kristen Wiig) keeps looking away at the most inopportune moments), but when its all said and done there really isn't much substance behind all the spectacle. In addition, with the exception of the portrayal of the downsizing managers (all young, bearded and coffee drinkers) this lacks the satire and the darkness of the original material, settling instead on a much lighter concoction. Whether this works or not is hard to say as I'm not sure who the target audience for this is meant to be. You can look at this film two ways I suppose. One is that its a bit of a waste of your time as, in effect, we have a film that utilises a MacGuffin within a MacGuffin. Alternatively you could say this is a silly bit of entertaining nonsense, capped off with one of the most moving and heart warming denouements of the year. As for the actual direction, this is easily Stiller's most impressive film thus far. Rating: 7/10.