Ben Stiller directs and stars as the eponymous Walter Mitty, a lovably introverted workaday photo editor. As the magazine undergoes radical change, Walter is forced out of his comfort zone to fight for his livelihood, his life and his love. The film has divided audiences between those who take it for the light-hearted, life-affirming flick it is, and those who are disappointed it’s not more life-affirming. Here’s some of the bits I liked and some of the bits I didn’t so much:
Things Walter Mitty
did well
Todd from eHarmony – the guy who keeps phoning Walter
up about his online dating account, scraping the barrel for something, anything
even remotely exciting to liven up Walter’s otherwise bland eHarmony
profile. At first a character you think
won’t appear again in the film, becomes an increasingly hilarious running
joke. Patton Oswalt plays the carefree
lazyboy perfectly – and I totally agree that Cinnabon is “100% frosted heroin.”
Corporate douchebags – Adam Scott plays the new Managing
Director of Life magazine, charged with downsizing the company. He’s the kind of character you love to hate:
arrogant, patronising and sanctimonious – all qualities used to hide a
thinly-veiled insecurity and general ignorance.
Supporting cast – from the drunken helicopter pilot
to the irate hotelier screaming in Icelandic: the film is jam-packed with
passing characters, comic and tragic in their own ways, making every scene
unique, varied and fun.
Design – from the immaculate cinematography,
extremely well-considered editing, subtly brilliant title sequence and
consistently clever inclusion of motion graphics and SFX, this film simply
looks great!
Understated humour – Walter gets off a giant jumbo
jet stationed at a tiny airport on Greenland . It turns out it’s only him and one other man
who were on the flight. The two shake
hands at the exit and walk off in opposite directions.
Well, I guess you had to be there, but its little touches of
comedy like this in the most mundane, necessary places of films that make this
one worth watching. The awkward moments
are a big hitter in this movie too – such as the difficult hug Walter and his
understudy share in an elevator.
Self-Awareness – Ben Stiller makes Walter Mitty’s job
title “Negative Asset Manager”, a title so dull that he struggles to say it
himself, is immediately ridiculed by Adam Scott’s Managing Director and
earmarked as first in line for the downsizing chop. Stiller employs the tactic of making fun of
the film himself before anyone else does, it’s also how he deals with product
placement. The product placement is
purposefully made utterly blatant and drawn attention to, as if to make a sly
joke at the hurdles Stiller has to hop to satisfy Hollywood
financiers.
Ending – The ending has an uplifting, life-affirming conclusion
which, deep down you know is just sugar-coated Hollywood fairydust at it’s
sickly best, but it resolves the narrative perfectly and delivers a very nice
message about the value of the head-down, hard working, high-hoping,
day-dreaming worker bee.
Things Walter Mitty
didn’t do so well
Cheryl Melhoff – The female lead was just a bit too
2D for my liking. Kirsten Wiig is
pretty, but that’s about it for her character – the serenely smiling object of
Walter’s affection remains passive throughout and you never know whether she’s
still seeing her ex-husband and feeding Walter some white lies, or if he really
is just round to repair the fridge.
Pretty filler to tick a Hollywood
box more than the woman who motivates Walter on his quest around the world.
Kathryn Hahn as Walter’s cooky sister – I didn’t get
it. I think this idiosyncratic character
was supposed to add a bit of a goofy sweetness to the film and make you feel
some sympathy for Walter and admiration for unconditionally supporting her in
all her uselessness - but I felt more sorry for Ben Stiller having to try to
act alongside her (and direct her!).
PLOT – There are some major plot holes (like “why did
he go to Greenland ?” and “how did he cross the
Afghan mountains in a couple of days?”) but the film is all about mixing
fantasy with reality, so the somewhat far-fetched, loose narrative doesn’t
really ruin your appreciation of the film as a whole.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a gripping naturalistic film which
will validate your existence, Walter Mitty will probably disappoint. But if you’re looking for an excellent piece
of escapist, entertaining popcorn cinema that gives you characters, comedy and
pathos in piles with an optimistic look at life, Walter Mitty is for you.
