{"id":22411,"date":"2006-11-16T12:29:50","date_gmt":"2006-11-16T18:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flovalleynews.com\/stranger-than-fiction-review\/"},"modified":"2020-01-15T22:21:18","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T22:21:18","slug":"stranger-than-fiction-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411","title":{"rendered":"‘Stranger Than Fiction’ review"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY MAGGIE SCOTT<\/p>\n

If we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re occasionally able to tune out the background noise that modern life subjects us to, most of us are still left with the persistent soundtrack of our own voice constructing, questioning, cursing and commenting on our individual realities. The voice can be comforting, tormenting, analytical or aimless. But, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ours; and if something comes along to silence it, or if a strange voice takes its place, our sense of self is threatened. <\/p>\n

This idea of the inner narrator provides the basis for the imaginative film “Stranger Than Fiction” from debut screenwriter Zach Helm and director Marc Forster. <\/p>\n

Helm takes the well-worn themes of finding your passion and the meaning of life and playfully tinkers with reality to tweak the typical plot devices for transforming the film\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leading character(s). With straight face, Helm introduces us to the bizarre dilemma of one Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), whose life has been appropriated by a writer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s blocked woman (Emma Thompson) straining to devise the perfect demise for her novel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hero. <\/p>\n

Fueled by cigarettes and unnerving research into death\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s varieties, Karen Eiffel types out in fits and starts the inexorable path to destruction Harold will walk after twelve years of ordered monotony as an IRS agent. As each word of Death and Taxes assembles off the typewriter keys onto the white paper, Karen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s omniscient voice rings in Harold\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ears. At first, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like a fly buzzing persistently around his head. Shake it off, shout it down, walk away from it\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6nothing works. Schizophrenia, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s told. Just take the medicine, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advised. <\/p>\n

But, Harold begins to realize this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t your average mental illness. The voice is revealing unconscious truths Harold has studiously avoided. Truths that could help Harold forge a new path in life, if he can just cheat the “imminent death” sentence he hears one morning at the bus stop. Perhaps someone like Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), a literary theorist, can help Harold figure out how he can change the ending to this weirdly evolving story of his life. <\/p>\n

Evolving to include a self-aware young woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal), whose initial antipathy to the “creep” who is auditing her bakery business mellows into fraternization. Evolving to identify Karen Eiffel as the voice in his head and to confront her with a plea to spare the life that finally has real meaning. A life Harold never knew he always wanted. <\/p>\n

Will the miracle of Harold\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s transformation inspire a rewrite that chooses his continued existence over a “poetic” ending? Ferrell\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s innate comic deviltry never cracks the fa\u00c3\u00a7ade of his beautifully modulated performance. Intelligently crafted, this is a funny, moving exhortation to follow your bliss. A Mandate Pictures production, Columbia Pictures release, rated PG-13 for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity.
\n.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY MAGGIE SCOTT If we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re occasionally able to tune out the background noise that modern life subjects us to, most of us are still left with the persistent soundtrack of our own voice constructing, questioning, cursing and commenting on our individual realities. The voice can be comforting, tormenting, analytical or aimless. But, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ours; and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n'Stranger Than Fiction' review - flovalleynews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Stranger Than Fiction' review - flovalleynews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BY MAGGIE SCOTT If we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re occasionally able to tune out the background noise that modern life subjects us to, most of us are still left with the persistent soundtrack of our own voice constructing, questioning, cursing and commenting on our individual realities. The voice can be comforting, tormenting, analytical or aimless. But, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ours; and […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"flovalleynews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-11-16T18:29:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-15T22:21:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"independentnws\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"independentnws\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?p=22411#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?p=22411\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"independentnws\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7bede6d4517a6be3345b47415b09cebd\"},\"headline\":\"‘Stranger Than Fiction’ review\",\"datePublished\":\"2006-11-16T18:29:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-15T22:21:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?p=22411\"},\"wordCount\":479,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Movie Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?p=22411#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?p=22411\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?p=22411\",\"name\":\"'Stranger Than Fiction' review - flovalleynews.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-11-16T18:29:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-15T22:21:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7bede6d4517a6be3345b47415b09cebd\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?p=22411#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?p=22411\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?p=22411#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"‘Stranger Than Fiction’ review\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"flovalleynews.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7bede6d4517a6be3345b47415b09cebd\",\"name\":\"independentnws\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f76505b4d7bc95b432faea9b79d00a6abc40ba8a96aef3a5fbd567ecb14b19a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f76505b4d7bc95b432faea9b79d00a6abc40ba8a96aef3a5fbd567ecb14b19a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f76505b4d7bc95b432faea9b79d00a6abc40ba8a96aef3a5fbd567ecb14b19a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"independentnws\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/flovalleynews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Stranger Than Fiction' review - flovalleynews.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Stranger Than Fiction' review - flovalleynews.com","og_description":"BY MAGGIE SCOTT If we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re occasionally able to tune out the background noise that modern life subjects us to, most of us are still left with the persistent soundtrack of our own voice constructing, questioning, cursing and commenting on our individual realities. The voice can be comforting, tormenting, analytical or aimless. But, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ours; and […]","og_url":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411","og_site_name":"flovalleynews.com","article_published_time":"2006-11-16T18:29:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-15T22:21:18+00:00","author":"independentnws","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"independentnws","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411"},"author":{"name":"independentnws","@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7bede6d4517a6be3345b47415b09cebd"},"headline":"‘Stranger Than Fiction’ review","datePublished":"2006-11-16T18:29:50+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-15T22:21:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411"},"wordCount":479,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Movie Reviews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411","url":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411","name":"'Stranger Than Fiction' review - flovalleynews.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2006-11-16T18:29:50+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-15T22:21:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7bede6d4517a6be3345b47415b09cebd"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=22411#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"‘Stranger Than Fiction’ review"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/","name":"flovalleynews.com","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7bede6d4517a6be3345b47415b09cebd","name":"independentnws","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f76505b4d7bc95b432faea9b79d00a6abc40ba8a96aef3a5fbd567ecb14b19a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f76505b4d7bc95b432faea9b79d00a6abc40ba8a96aef3a5fbd567ecb14b19a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f76505b4d7bc95b432faea9b79d00a6abc40ba8a96aef3a5fbd567ecb14b19a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"independentnws"},"url":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22862,"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22411\/revisions\/22862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}