Stranger Than Fiction

I just watched a movie, a really good movie, decide for yourself whether it is a comedy or a tragedy, that was 3/4 of the best movie I've ever seen. Well, maybe not that good but could easily have become my favorite movie, except Will Ferrell was in it!

Maggie Gyllenhall played the woman I wanted. The woman he wanted. The female lead. She was spot on perfect. Utterly and absolutely the perfect actress for the role. Great casting. Emma Thompson wrote the story; in the story. Emma was the writer. Dustin Hoffman the literature professor. Great job Dustin. The Robin Williams role from Good Will Hunting, only as a writing coach.

The story was about writing. Writing as metaphor for life. Great writing about writing. A burning question. A dramatic ending. Marvelous marvelous metaphor.

And even Will Ferrell didn't do anything wrong, particularly. He just played Will Ferrell with his stupid Will Ferrell look on his face and I kept trying to figure out who, who should have been cast in this 3/4 of a perfect movie.

It could have been Johnny Depp, though I think not. It could have been Russell Crowe, or Brad Pitt, but they're too stoney, too good looking. It couldn't have been Tom Cruise. He can't act either. Mabye George Cluney. Maybe. Maybe Ben Affleck, maybe. But I think an actor like Robin Williams - a bit too old for Maggie though it worked for Bill Murray. Bill Murray could have played this. No I'm thinking like an Edward Burns or a Hugh Jackman, even though he too is too handsome. This movie demanded a leading man with an ironic touch. Not the ham handed comedy of Will Ferrell. Will has made a good living making his stupid face. He's made a good living pretending to be G.W. He slipped into the former a lot in this movie and even into the latter a couple times. It was wrong! He was wrong!

A crime has been committed. A crime has been perpetrated on one of the better scripts to come along in twenty years ... and it was committed by the casting director!

Stranger Than Fiction.

Must see.