Stranger Than Fiction | 
| Director: Marc Forster Actors: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Maggie Gyllenhaal Studio: Sony Pictures Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94 Buy Used: $0.97 You Save: $13.97 (94%)
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Rating: 313 reviews Sales Rank: 1657
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed) Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Region: 99 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 113 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: COLD15407D UPC: 079404344102 EAN: 0079404344102 ASIN: B000LXH0AE
Theatrical Release Date: November 10, 2006 Release Date: February 27, 2007 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description Will Ferrell stars as Harold Crick, a lonely IRS agent whose mundane existence is transformed when he hears a mysterious voice narrating his life. With the help of Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), Harold discovers he's the main character in a novel-in-progress and that the voice belongs to Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson), an eccentric author famous for killing her main characters in creative ways. Harold must quickly track down Eiffel and stop her before she conjures up a way to finish him off.
Amazon.com Much was written about Will Ferrell's first "dramatic role" as Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who begins hearing a voice narrating his life. But Stranger Than Fiction is hardly a drama. However, what Ferrell does--like Jim Carrey before him in The Truman Show--is handle a toned-down character with genuineness and affection: you believe he is this guy. Crick leads a lonely life filled with numbers and routines. While at first he considers the voice a nuisance, Crick decides more action is needed when it speaks of "his demise." Enter Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), who takes on the absurd notion with revelry, trying to find out what kind of book Crick's life is leading. It turns out that the voice Crick is hearing belongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a very real--and troubled--author who is writing a book in which Crick is a fictional character. As usual with these things, the stuffed shirt learns to live a better life--Crick even falls for one of his audits, a brash baker named Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Marc Foster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) has the right tone for the film, using great urban scenes (the unnamed city is Chicago) with interesting visualizations of Crick's world of numbers. He also directs Ferrell, Hoffman, and Gyllenhaal to their most charming performances (plus Linda Hunt and Tom Hulce pop up in two funny scenes). Ferrell succeeds in being a romantic lead you can root for; a scene where he eats Ana's freshly baked cookies is totally delightful without a hint of sarcasm. Screenwriter Zach Helm has two personal traits with his story: like Crick he followed his heart (he stopped rewriting scripts and only worked on his own) and like Eiffel, the final results are not a masterpiece, but good, and entertaining enough. Britt Daniel of the band Spoon worked on the dynamite soundtrack.--Doug Thomas Extras from Stranger Than Fiction  "Counting Brush Strokes," A featurette on the filming of Stranger Than Fictionhigh bandwidth |  Tax Man!:
A clip from the film high bandwidth |  Queen Latifah on working with Emma Thompson high bandwidth | Stills from Stranger Than Fiction (click for larger image) !-- end6pak --> Beyond Stranger Than Fiction on Amazon.com  Comic Actors Go Dramatic |  CD Soundtrack |  Emma Thompson Essentials |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 308 more reviews...
Ferrell strikes in this off-beat drama June 28, 2009 B. Mogg (Dallas, TX) In an era where Will Ferrell can only be a punchline character in any decent film, he really surprised me in this underrated gem. Though his comedic background plays no role in this movie, I found myself entertained at a comedic level through his mannerisms. The supporting cast is strong but isn't explicitly required given the quality of many other elements of the movie. Well written script, good plot, and excellent acting all around make this a can't-miss evening treat.
SONY MAKING NON-PLAYABLE DVD'S June 21, 2009 Steve DeMellman (Phoenix, Az USA) As did Mr. Bob Dobolina in his review, I got ZILCH when I attempted to play this dvd. Assuming it was a defective disc, I took it back to the video store and got another one. It wouldn't play either. I recently tried a third time with a third dvd. I'll be avoiding Sony dvd's as well as it seems their product has a design flaw. CONSUMER ALERT- SONY SELLING DEFECTIVE DVD's WITH DESIGN FLAWS=
Surprisingly good! June 9, 2009 Alan Starr (Lawrence, MA) Surprisingly good, funny movie from Will Farrell. His comedies are not usually my style, but here he plays things low-key and it works well. Plus the story is just weird, very much like a Michael Gondry film (Eternal Sunshine, Science of Sleep). Also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is just so sexy in everything she does.
Fantastic. May 26, 2009 K. O'Brien (Webster Groves, MO) I'm so glad to own this movie. I was tickled upon first seeing it, and now having seen it several times I've only found it to get better with each viewing. There are so many things about it to absorb-- visually, in terms of the premise and the moral, and also a wonderful and wonderfully executed script. I might also mention that not only have I never been a Will Ferrel fan, I very strongly disliked him.. but his performance was just what the movie called for. I feel giddy when I think about this movie.. and would most certainly recommend it to anyone!
Love it May 22, 2009 S. Pugliese (Philadelphia) I love the idea behind this story. It's one of my favorites. Will Ferrel shines in this. I wish he'd do more movies like this and less extreme comedy.
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