 Will Ferrell, who is loved by movie audiences more than he is admired by film critics, is gaining in the writers' estimation faster than a race car at Talladega, thanks to his performance in Marc Forster's Stranger Than Fiction. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times remarks that Ferrell's performance shows "that like Steve Martin and Robin Williams he has dramatic gifts to equal his comedic talent." Steven Rea writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "As The Truman Show was to Jim Carrey, Stranger Than Fiction will be for Will Ferrell. ... Look out, Oscars." A.O. Scott in the New York Times remarks that the movie "gives Will Ferrell the kind of opportunity that movie and television clowns seem to cherish, which is to impress audiences with their restraint." Overall, the film's story and direction receives almost as much praise as Ferrell. In the words of Kevin Crust in the Los Angeles Times, "Clever throughout, Stranger will merit year-end awards consideration, especially for writing and acting. It manages to be smart and surprising and provides this season of serious movies with a much-needed shot of whimsy." And Claudia Puig in USA Today praises director Forster for doing "a fine job fashioning an original and thought-provoking movie with heart and poignancy. But, as always there are those that dissent, Richard Corliss of Time Magazine opines, "The movie is clever, but a little too pleased with its own clockwork intricacy." |
