Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a man who does not like to take risks. He is still single, and he is not very social. His job, working with negative photos for "Life" magazine, requires him to work with only one other person in a secluded area.
Mitty constantly fantasizes about being a more adventurous person who takes risks. Through his day-to-day routines and conversations, he constantly daydreams about how his life would be if that were the case.
The story starts during a transitionary period for "Life" magazine. The company is downsizing as it prepares to end its run of magazines and focus on the Internet.
The final issue is slated to come out, and the head photographer, Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn), gave Mitty the negatives for the issue. However, the one that was supposed to be used for the cover--what is described as the "quintessence"--is missing, a fact that could mean Mitty's job.
After being unable to find the photo, he reaches out to Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig, "Bridesmaids"), a woman who also works for the magazine, for help in tracking O'Connell, who probably knows where the photo is. However, it is impossible to find him. He never carries a cell phone, and he is constantly on the move to take more pictures.
Melhoff encourages Mitty to do what he can to reach O'Connell. Mitty embarks on a dangerous international adventure to find the photographer so he can retrieve the final cover photo of "Life."
Watching this movie, I found myself excited to see where he was going next. His travels lead him to some very interesting situations involving intriguing characters. Walter Mitty himself is an intriguing character, and it is entertaining to see his reactions to other people.
Ben Stiller does a good job in the title role. He is known for being in comedies. He is perhaps best known for his over-the-top performance in "Zoolander" in which he satirizes the modeling industry. He also does a good job in more subtle, quirky roles as in "Meet the Parents."
This is why he is perfect as Walter Mitty. He is a shy character with subtle quirks. However, when he has his visions, he is slightly over-the-top without being unbelievable. Stiller does a good job making real Mitty and fantasy Mitty the same person. The only difference between the two is his dream self takes more risks.
Mitty has a definite character arc. Both Stiller and the writers did a great job showing the audience that the title character in the beginning is a different person at the end. It is interesting to see this all play out.
One of the techniques for showing this arc is the film's use of one of the main ad placements: eHarmony. As Mitty has more experiences, they show up on his profile, and he is able to get attention on it. Patton Oswalt ("Ratatoullie") plays the customer service representative for the company, and it is through him that we find this out.
A lot of times ad placements are awkwardly forced into movies. There are shots that are so obviously done to make money that it is laughable and distracting. The eHarmony placement was not bad. The company is mentioned several times, but Patton Oswalt brings comedy and charm that makes it palatable.
That is not to say that there were not some awkward ad placements in this film. Papa Johns obviously paid the filmmakers a pretty big sum. The writers tried to blend it in as an important part of Mitty's backstory, but this plot point feels forced.
A reason it did not work is the backstory is not clear. His character is developed in that we know he does not like to take a lot of risks. However, it is also revealed that he is good at skateboarding. This is a skill he has been able to do since he was a child. When his father died, he started working at Papa Johns, and things changed for him. It is never explained why Papa Johns and his father's death changed him so drastically, which is why the Papa Johns ad placement felt forced overall.
I also found that Mitty's fantasies were just okay. They are obviously meant to be funny, but I felt the filmmakers tried to hard in these segments. The funniest parts are when Mitty is having real-life conversations. He is a quirky, likable character from beginning to end, and some of the situations he gets into are very funny.
Each event in this film does a great job illustrating the lesson this film tries to teach. It is about how life is not worth living unless you take some risks. Most of what Mitty does is extreme, but the basic idea is well executed.
This movie gets three and a half out of five stars from me. It definitely has its flaws in some shameless ad placement and forced plot points, but it is a charming movie with a good life lesson. If you are looking for something to see with your family, I would recommend seeing this.
Content: Rated PG. There is very little language. The only part that parents may have a hard time with is when one character calls another an offensive word. There is one instance in which sex is mentioned, and that is when a character says "make love" in reference to the song "If You Like Pina Coladas."
Topic for Comment: What movie has the most annoying ad placement you have ever seen?
This is something new I am doing on this blog. I made it as easy as possible to post a comment. You are welcome to say anything you want even if I do not agree with it. However, I have two rules: do not demean other people including myself and do not say cuss words. If you do so, I have no choice but to delete your post. It is nothing against you, I just want to keep my blog appropriate for all ages.
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