Forster has a strong eye for detail and a keen visual sense, and there are some wonderfully composed shots and sharp, telling bits of set design. Ferrell indeed pulls a Jim Carrey, coming off convincingly both in his serious and comedic moments, and Hoffman is hilarious as the professor who takes it all at face value. But the script, so ingenious and rich with comedic potential at first, paints itself into a corner that it's almost impossible to wiggle out of, and the ending feels like a cheat, with too much unearned sentiment. Charlie Kaufman would not approve.
SCREEN
Stranger Than Fiction
Forster has a strong eye for detail and a keen visual sense, and there are some wonderfully composed shots and sharp, telling bits of set design. Ferrell indeed pulls a Jim Carrey, coming off convincingly both in his serious and comedic moments, and Hoffman is hilarious as the professor who takes it all at face value. But the script, so ingenious and rich with comedic potential at first, paints itself into a corner that it's almost impossible to wiggle out of, and the ending feels like a cheat, with too much unearned sentiment. Charlie Kaufman would not approve.