‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ FFCC Reviews
FFCC members review Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Bill Gibron – Pop Matters
“If yours truly was in his late 20s/early 30s and lost in the kind of mindless pursuits Walter calls living, this movie would be my Bible. It’s the Lonely Planet version of personal reinvention, a winning if ultimately weak walk through casual carpe diem and taking risks. Awash in the kind of imagery that will make young people weep with self-actualized joy and arguing for something akin to the old “don’t dream it, be it” ideal, Stiller struggles to make it all come together as a coherent whole.”
Dan Hudak – Hudak on Hollywood
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is always amusing and has a nice message of living life to its fullest. It also has a great soundtrack of pop songs, a strong musical score and strong visual effects. All of those elements are window dressing, however, to the story. And when the story doesn’t click, the movie (or any movie, for that matter) is doomed.”
Hans Morgenstern – Hollywood.com
“For all its notions of escapism, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty winds its way to a rather grounded sentiment that celebrates connection with the real, unadulterated moment without filters, be they through fantasy or technology. It’s about the pleasures of experiences over daydreams, analog over digital, effort over ease, enjoying the doing and not the done, and patience over immediate satisfaction. So much of the essence of these notions is folded into the dynamics of the film’s characters and their interactions, in the writing and the set pieces. Stiller harnesses the power of cinema to show what it can do, then subverts it.”
Reuben Pereira – Film Frontier
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has a lot going for it: A gorgeous indie folk-flavored soundtrack, a pair of affecting performances from Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig, an appealing conceit, albeit based off a classic short story, and some of the most astounding cinematography of the year. But there’s something missing in this ambitious passion project from Stiller: a compelling narrative.”
Steve Persall – Tampa Bay Times
“By imposing carpe diem purpose on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty — although no deeper than a Nike ad — Stiller turns Thurber’s everyman into every man for himself. If you have a dream, get your own movie. Little about this one is embraceable or teachable, and nothing swells your chest with emotion. It’s the sort of oppressively pop cultured pep rally that Thurber’s Walter might have faced an imaginary firing squad to escape.”
Rene Rodriguez – The Miami Herald
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is filled with small, memorable moments that coalesce into a sweet, if predictable, parable about embracing life. Here is the rare big Hollywood picture that starts out on a huge canvas and gradually shrinks in scope and size to focus on ordinary people. How often do you see that happen?”
Skip Sheffield – Skip Sheffield’s Flix
“On the distinctly light side we have “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” This is the second feature film adaptation of James Thurber’s (very) short story, which first appeared in the New Yorker in 1939. The 1947 film starred Danny Kaye as meek, henpecked dreamer Walter Mitty. This version is directed by and stars Ben Stiller, whose Walter has morphed into an action hero in the guise of a daydreaming Manhattan staff writer in the final days of Life magazine. Walter Mitty is slight but visually entertaining and fun.”
