First day into the New Year and I already need to alter, ever so slightly, my top ten list. While Will Ferrell's latest movie Stranger Than Fiction did not grab a slot in last week's list it certainly gets an honorable mention. This is the first time I've seen Ferrell in a role that is not a) an SNL character, b) a gross exaggeration or caricature of some personality, or c) a guy who is funny, plain and simple. Comic actors have a history of trying their hand at something more dramatic, but most of the time they fail because the roles are played too straight. Robin Williams, for instance, is terrifying to watch in a movie like Good Will Hunting, I know I fall into a minority on that one, but I can't help it, I think he's downright scary. Others have been more successful, like Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey, but even they make me think they'll snap out of character for a moment and crack a joke, make a noise, do other things slapstick, etc..
Ferrell was a pleasant surprise as a straight man because he didn't completely abandon his audience's expectations of the classical "him." His character is a regular guy. He's a tax man for the IRS who is so widely despised that at some point he became numb to life. That part isn't explicitly stated in the movie, but judging by the blank walls and neutral, minimalist design of his apartment, and the routine of his outfits and the times he wakes, sleeps, and eats, it's easy to tell this guy, Harold Crick is his name, doesn't have much stimulation. But he is likeable because he is still "Will Ferrell" and there are moments where we get to read some of his inflections as comic, almost like an inside joke. Like I said, I always feel like I'm waiting for comic-actors-turned-dramatic to break character and tell me the things about them I already know. I like watching them for this reason, it's intriguing.
The fantastic thing about Ferrell though, is that he never descended into a full-fledged clown. He stayed level without taking himself too seriously, I mean that in terms of his character (he of course takes the role seriously.) There is a scene where Harold breaks down when he keeps hearing the narrator's (Emma Thompson) voice. He's pacing through his apartment, tearing it apart trying to find where the voice is coming from, and while for the first few moments the audience giggled at his drastic movements, the scene continued and people (myself included) realized the sympathy they felt for Harold. It was a great act of frustration, but done light enough that we read it seriously, with a touch of humor, so as not to think the guy mental. That is not something this gal can say about creepy Robin Williams.
No comments:
Post a Comment