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Stranger Than Fiction
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Stranger Than Fiction (2006) More at IMDbPro »

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Stranger Than Fiction (2006) -- An IRS auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006) -- An IRS auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006) -- An IRS auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   68,143 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Zach Helm (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Stranger Than Fiction on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 November 2006 (USA) more
Tagline:
Harold Crick isn't ready to go. Period. more
Plot:
An IRS auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 11 nominations more
User Comments:
Strangely Addicting more (454 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Will Ferrell ... Harold Crick

William Dick ... IRS Co-Worker #1
Guy Massey ... IRS Co-Worker #2
Martha Espinoza ... IRS Co-Worker #3
T.J. Jagodowski ... IRS Co-Worker #4

Peter Grosz ... IRS Co-Worker #5
Ricky Adams ... Young Boy

Christian Stolte ... Young Boy's Father
Denise Hughes ... Kronecker Bus Driver
Peggy Roeder ... Polish Woman

Tonray Ho ... IRS Co-Worker #6

Tony Hale ... Dave

Maggie Gyllenhaal ... Ana Pascal
Danny Rhodes ... Bakery Employee #1
Helen Young ... Bakery Customer #1
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Killing Harold Crick (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity.
Runtime:
113 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The cigarettes that Emma Thompson smokes are American Spirits. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Harold exits the bus after flirting with Ms. Pascal, the narrator states that he got off 27 blocks early. He then proceeds to walk in the opposite direction relative to the path of the bus. If he got of the bus early, then he should have followed the bus in the same direction. more
Quotes:
Harold Crick: I may already be dead, just not typed. more
Movie Connections:
References Rain Man (1988) more
Soundtrack:
The Book I Write more

FAQ

If the book's ending was so perfect, why would Eiffel change it?
Why doesn't Harold tell Ana what was going to happen to him?
What is the song Harold plays for Ana?
more
84 out of 111 people found the following comment useful.
Strangely Addicting, 9 November 2006
7/10
Author: imagineer99 from United States

With his unassuming eyes and sheepish, "awe shucks!" demeanor, Will Ferrell is quite simply the guy you root for—the eternal boy trapped in a gangly 6'3" frame. Just a single look can make you giggle and smile so effortlessly that you're often unaware that you're actually doing it. It is with this notion that Stranger than Fiction—Ferrell's first major foray into a theatrical world outside the realm of in-your-face frat boy silliness—just makes sense. By surrounding Ferrell's charisma with a subdued, darkly comic script and a talented supporting cast, we get a film that is both fresh and heartfelt.

Directed by Marc Forster and penned by Zach Helm, Stranger than Fiction is an odd mix-mash, combining a standard comedy with existentialist ideas. Number crunching IRS agent and genuine loser, Harold Crick (Ferrell) one day wakes up to find his life being narrated word for word by burnt out writer Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson). Odd thing is, Eiffel is writing an actual book where Crick just happens to be the main character. To make matters worse, she plans on killing him off as soon as she can make it through a particularly arduous stretch of writer's block.

Originality is one thing that is absent from a majority of contemporary Hollywood pictures, so Fiction immediately gets points for simply trying something different. I suppose it's icing on the cake that the film is genuinely good. Crick, knowing that is death is imminent, begins to break out of his cloistered shell and to experience the fruits of his life. And, in the process he forms a bond with a tax breaking baker (Gyllenhal) and seeks advice from a literature professor, played by a particularly charming Dustin Hoffman

However, even though it is well intentioned, the execution isn't flawless. The romance that develops between Gyllenhal's outcast baker and Ferrell's strait-laced Crick doesn't feel entirely organic. We admire the relationship and smile at its sugar coated sweetness, but we don't necessarily believe their connection. It may taste good, but it doesn't exactly wash down smoothly. Neither, does the film's over reliance on reinforcing generic, "Carpe Diem" philosophies. Towards the second act, things do get sappy. Luckily, by the conclusion, the plot has bounced back to a wonderful limbo of both oddly comic and genuinely heartwarming moments.

For all its flaws, Stranger than Fiction, works. Like a good novel, Forster has fashioned something that is strange, stylistic, and unexpectedly inspiring. And, despite the chinks in its existentialist armor, that's surely something worth writing home about.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
FAVOURITE SCENE/ QUOTE FROM THE MOVIE! GreenGobstopper
Did nobody else find this completely *beep* up? (Spoilers) TheGuardian_devil
The circular motif? maxwellj-1
This movie makes me want to write PaintedVelvet
Not once did anyone question WHY this was happening stick500
Death vs a Masterpiece of a Novel ?!?? mypcforums
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