The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller, 114 mins, Comedy Drama
Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Sean Penn

Although Ben Stiller’s past directorial works have aired on the side of silly, from the bombastic Tropic Thunder to the cult-classic Zoolander, he has always seemed most comfortable in far more sober comedies like Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg or Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums. So it is no real surprise that with his newest venture, he has tried to mix the slapstick humor that has made him so popular, with the somber and subdued air that helps him stand the test of time. The mix is not always seamless and there are jarring moments in the movie, but for the most part, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a fun, engaging, often emotional and visually stunning experience.

With Mitty, Stiller is able to have his cake and eat it (several times over), as he plays the shy, retiring and introverted Mitty, who pines for true love and adventure. This allows for some knockout deadpan retorts, which are juxtaposed with Mitty’s flights of fancy; daydreams that see him empowered with superhuman strength, or exploring worlds way beyond his grasp. It is in the claustrophobic cityscape in which these daydreams really shine, showing that every face in the crowd has the potential for excellence. But the reality of adventure seems flat compared to fantasy, and Mitty chasing his dream seems a little like a hollow ploy to drive the plot, rather than a life journey that defines his character.

The supporting cast are fantastic, with Kristen Wiig being more than just a pretty face worth chasing in Cheryl Melhoff, but an anchor in reality that is beautiful enough to keep Mitty from escaping into his imagination permanently. Adam Scott is a convincing adversary as Ted Hendricks, and gives you reason enough to hate him and root for Mitty. Sean Penn basically plays Sean Penn with a camera, but while Mitty’s admiration for Sean’s character (confusingly also called Sean) is the main moot point in the movie, if Sean Penn is your film’s weakest link, you know you are onto a winner.