Got a big imagination and a big heart? Work in a somewhat menial but important job? Then The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a romantic ode to you and your place in this world. It’s also the story of what happens when a “normal” person gets placed in a series of abnormal circumstances and rising to the occasion. Walter Mitty is a man with an amazing imagination who excels at his job keeping the film negative archive at Life magazine organized
Talking to a new co-worker (Kristen Wiig from SNL and Bridesmaids) or dealing with a new boss (Adam Scott from Parks and Recreation)? Not so much. But when Mitty’s imagination takes off, suddenly he’s leaping into exploding buildings to save a kitten or traversing arctic glaciers or fighting his boss on the streets of New York in what can only be described as a real-life version of the chicken fights from Family Guy. Yes, they get that ridiculous.
Directed by and starring Ben Stiller as the eponymous Mitty, this is a smart and sentimental film that is perfect for a post-Christmas theater visit. But Stiller as a director is smart enough to draw all of the best performances out of the film from his supporting cast. Adam Scott plays against type as a character I liked to call “Douchebeard the Corporate Pirate” tasked with shutting down and firing most of the staff and constantly haranguing Mitty to find a specific photo, one which he has lost.
The photo was taken by an enigmatic adventure photographer played with great restraint by Sean Penn. Again, another brilliant performance captured by Stiller, who really seems to understand exactly what he wants from his cast and this film. As Mitty attempts to track the original photo down, he embarks on a worldwide adventure, somehow inexplicably followed around via phone by an eHarmony customer service rep, played to perfection by the voice of Patton Oswalt — who threatens to steal the movie with his voice alone. Also doing great work here are Shirley Maclaine as Mitty’s mother and Adrian Martinez as Hernando, Mitty’s co-worker.
The real star of the entire film, though, are the visuals. We don’t normally think of Ben Stiller as a great visual director. His other films he’s produced and directed like Zoolander, Tropic Thunder, Reality Bites are more straightforward. While Stiller’s knack for comedy comes through, Mitty relies less on jokes and more on wry observations. But some of the panoramas he captures and action set pieces in this film are beyond anything I thought Stiller was capable of.
The film also plays out as a romantic sonnet to, of all things, print journalism and Life magazine. Unfortunately, the story seems even a little dated — just a few years too late — as Life magazine has actually struggled for over a decade, ceasing publication several times during that space and succumbing to the same pressures that killed hundreds of newspapers and magazines during the Great Recession in the last part of the last decade.
Those expecting any similarity to the original James Thurber short story or the film starring Danny Kaye of the same name should dissuade themselves of that notion immediately. There is nary a “pocketa-pocketa-pocketa” anywhere in here, but on balance it is not missed. Stiller is smart, knowing full well that most people will have no experience with the source material, except possibly a vague remembrance that you had to read it once for a college English class and enjoying it.
While Thurber’s Mitty was a meek man who could never actually do the heroic things he imagines, Stiller’s Mitty uses his imagination to propel him to do things he never thought he’d do, and that no sane person would actually consider. Overall, it’s an upgrade and makes for a better film and a more interesting story arc for our protagonist.
This is a great film that is so completely non-offensive and has a little something for everyone that it makes for a perfect holiday trip for the whole family. While not complete “Oscar bait” it is the type of film that will win awards and deserves to, but may be a little too mainstream for the art house crowd.
3 1/2 stars