The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Review

Directed by Ben Stiller

Written by Steven Conrad

I feel as though I should start out my film by stating that I am a bit biased towards liking it. I actually spent two months working as a PA on this film. However, I spent little enough time on set that I truly didn't recognize most of the film and as such this did not have as great an impact on my opinions as one might expect, so I believe I have written this review to the best of my unbiased abilities.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a quintessential holiday film. It's entertaining, safe, and hopeful. I've read several reviews which have held this all against the film. The movie doesn't exactly take very many risks, nor do anything incredibly new. What these negative reviews do not take into account, however, is that The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is still a very well made, fun, and truly emotionally effective film.

The movie tells the story of Walter Mitty, played by Ben Stiller, an average guy who only experiences excitement through his many daydreams. He even sets up an eHarmony account so that he can avoid the awkwardness of trying to talk to women in real life. However, the story inevitably takes him on an actual adventure.

The screenplay of this film is very strong, with some truly funny moments, as well as some that will bring a smile to the face of everyone in the audience willing to allow it to. There are also some themes about the current job market, as Walter's place of work is being greatly downsized. This plotline is not quite as effective as the others, but it serves to connect this film to the problems of this day and age.

This film is a far cry from Stiller's previous directorial efforts, most notably in its rating. The PG rating of this film means that crude humor is largely missing from this film, and as such the movie takes a more dramatic approach to the story anyway, rather than becoming a full comedy, although the elements are still there. It is also a much better looking film. Much of this is the scenery, but the film itself is simply shot much more artistically than most comedies or family films. The cinematography is truly beautiful, fitting for a film in which the plot is largely based around photography.

I have never been a huge fan of Stiller's acting, but he does a remarkable job with Walter Mitty here. He is somewhat of a pathetic character, but not unrealistically so. He is easy to connect to, as rather than a walking stereotype, he plays Walter as a man who wants life to turn out one way, but never has the guts to make it. We realize his potential as a person, and that makes us want him to succeed. The supporting cast is decent, but most of them aren't really given much material to work with. This doesn't take away from the film, however, it merely allows this to be Walter's story beginning to end. The exceptions are Patton Oswalt, who is almost entirely a merely vocal presence, yet he accounts for some of the biggest laughs of the film, and Sean Penn, who makes the most of his limited role.

All in all Walter Mitty will probably not give you anything incredibly new, but that really doesn't hold the film back. It's well made, inspiring and fun. Perhaps there are ways that it could have been better, but I felt so hopeful coming out of the film that I find it incredibly hard to criticize at all. I recommend this as a great family or date movie in the coming holiday season. A-