Stranger Than Fiction

Director: Marc Forster
Year Released: 2006
Rating: 3.0

Everyman Will Ferrell discovers his life is actually being written by novelist Emma Thompson - who has a habit of killing off her leads - and the only man who can help him solve this po-mo dilemma (part Kafka, part C. Kaufman) is heavily-caffeinated professor Dustin Hoffman (still in I Heart Huckabees mode). You're going to have to overlook some glaring contrivances to get to really appreciate this semi-humorous and humanistic picture - and an ending that almost screws itself over before tying things together oh-so-nicely - that argues against work and for play (and I'm all about it 'bout it). I wouldn't imagine Anarchist baker Maggie Gyllenhaal would provide a plausible mate for IRS agent Farrell, but as they say, opposites attract; this is one of the true sleeper hits of the year.