For some reason, this film isn’t connecting with audiences or critics much, and I’m not entirely sure why. Is it a truly good movie with no flaws? No. Does it accomplish everything it wants to be? Well, no to that too. But I can’t say it’s bad, and I think it just might stir up enough sentimentality to really grow an audience down the road.
What Works: The tale of a guy who spends most of his (best) time in his own head while his real life is pretty bleak is always an appealing theme. Even better when it’s staged with a holiday populism that promises to tug at your heartstrings. In fact, Walter Mitty may be the only film I’ve ever seen that could have benefitted from more mainstream sensibilities, since the emotionalism is too often stunted in favor of indie-style quirks. Still, beautiful cinematography, an uplifting message (stop dreaming, start living), and a nice cameo from Sean Penn all push this firmly into “above average” territory.
What Doesn’t: Adam Scott regresses into snarky-villain territory and even though we’re supposed to hate his character, that doesn’t keep him from stopping the movie in its tracks. I love Patton Oswalt but his character’s interest in Walter (Oswalt is the voice of a tech support guy…when have they ever cared about anything?) stretches plausibility. And the film should have been a little tighter, and maybe a little more emotional as I wanted to feel Walter’s blooming a little bit more…it’s hard to say if the fault in that lies with Stiller the performer or Stiller the director.
What I Would Have Done Differently: There needs to be just one more great scene where Walter really breaks through and you feel all the things he’s been keeping in his head come exploding out of him with pure joy and life. If they’d had that one great scene, I think the movie could have been saved. As is though, it’s not nearly as lukewarm or mediocre as people are making it out to be.