Film Utterly Squanders Its Potential
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty should have been heartwarming whimsical movie that I fell in love with, but instead frustrated me to no end. The biggest problem is that none of the characters act in a way that any relatable human being would, which culminates in a near end twist that really took me out of the movie. The parts that are clever or heartwarming come at the expense of being a paint-by-numbers cliche. The dialogue comes off as very awkward, which is intentional, but not the awkward that lends itself to good writing that someone like Joss Whedon can produce. I am sure that I will appreciate the message and the intent behind it, but I was too frustrated and bored to enjoy watching it.
Film Uneven, but its heart is in the right place.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
This is a hard movie to talk about. Ostensibly a comedy, it also wants to deliver a serious message — and despite it being a Captain Obvious Aesop, mostly succeeds. But it's exactly the seriousness of its message that makes the movie look schizophrenic at times, confused about whether it wants to take itself seriously.
The movie tries to present a contrast between Walter's over-the-top daydreams and reality, but fails because the real-life story is itself over the top: both because of the corny larger-than-life characters, like the Pointy-Haired Boss, the dating service agent whose behavior borders on stalking, and the drunk brawly helicopter pilot, and because the movie's idea of an "interesting real life" that contrasts Walter's boring desk job consists of dangerously reckless behavior that realistically would have had Walter killed or at least severely injured. (Jumping into a helicopter about to take off, jumping from said helicopter into ice-cold shark-infested water, trekking through a warzone, buying passage from Afghan warlords with cake — no, seriously, that happens — and climbing the Himalayas under-equipped with no training.)
The other problem is the "get the girl" message. "The girl" in question pretty much only exists as a prize to be won by the male lead, and not just any kind of prize, but a consolation prize for losing his job through no fault of its own. It adds nothing to the story and distracts from the main message.
And, there is the problem of hypocrisy with presenting an anti-escapist message through the escapist medium of cinema. Asking the viewers to have the same kind of exciting adventure as Walter is rather unfair, considering the amount of contrived coincidence, sheer luck, and CGI action sequences that Walter needed to go through all this and return, a luxury that a real-world white collar worker in his position is not going to have.
Still, it's emotionally uplifting, genuinely inspiring, and worth seeing once — for its feel-good message, to get the resolve to climb out of your comfort zone and go out there, doing something to break the routine, something to remember fondly.
Film I Liked It
When you go into a movie that's been given an "eh" by critics and holds a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, you shouldn't be expecting much. However, I was surprised that a film like this could be shoved aside without looking past the obvious obnoxious character that really doesn't belong in it.
I'll start with that guy. Ted Hendricks is his name, and being an unrealistic example of an important employee at a magazine company is his game. He's my only major problem with the movie, because yes it does a good job portraying him in an unlikeable light, but it goes a little too far, as he feels too much like an elementary school bully than a guy who should be wearing a suit.
Once you get past him, the film has a lot to offer. It starts off admittedly slow, establishing Walter as an unfocused daydreamer whose unappreciated at his job. Things don't really take off until Walter's plane to Greenland does, where he ultimately begins to experience life outside his fantasies. The film does what I consider to be a good job developing Walter's character from start to finish. As he sees the beauties of real life more, he begins to imagine doing amazing things less and less and does them for real. He becomes more spontaneous and experienced, and that's the importance of Kristen Wiigs's character, Cheryl Melhoff. Cheryl serves as Walter's motivation to get out and experience things to begin with. Yes, that makes her kind of mute for the rest of the movie, but the awkward chemistry between the two is believable enough to provide some heart in my opinion.
Of course, I'm not just going to dismiss Walter's fantasies. Yes, they establish Walter's character early on in the film and his lack of trailing off into Cloud Cuckoo Land later on gives him some development, but they're undoubtedly jumbled and uneven. That's another thing people disliked about the movie for an understandable reason, but I was more dismissive of it because it made Walter more definitive, along with the genuine feeling that came with the story about his dad.
Ultimately this movie dodged most of what I was expecting it to steer into, and included funny, heartfelt, and awesome moments. I can tell you that it's worth a watch with all of that in mind, and is not a bad movie by my standards.
And the cinematography was remarkable.