The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

                                              The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

                                                                 "Stiller still loves still life"

         

               

All the Walter Mitty fan If you are looking for a connection to the original story to this silver screen saga, the connection happens during the first 45 minutes and then seems to go in its own direction. Big deal. The movie moves through characters development, plot lines, and geographies smoothly, and does not reveal its final hand until the end.Some indian viewer may try to find echo of 'mungerilal ke hasin sapne' but there is really no connection at all, except that both have original stoy idea from great James Thurber.

Loosely based on the 1939 short story by James Thurber, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty explores the idyllic fantasies of its protagonist, as he attempts to escape the mundane motions of his daily routine employment at Life Magazine. Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a photo negative archiver at Life Magazine. He has given up on his dreams, taking on the financial and emotional stress of his aging Mom brilliantly played by legend called Shirley MacLaine, about to enter a care home. His sister is flighty wannabe actress Odessa (Kathryn Hahn), dreams of playing Rizzo in "Grease". Walter joined eHarmony so he can date Cheryl Melhof (Kristen Wiig), who works in the same office. Wiig charms as Cheryl, the quirky single Mom of skateboarder son Rich (Marcus Antturi). Cheryl is smart and pretty, and is actually interested in Walter, if he had a clue. 

Life Magazine has been taken over by another Company. To transition over to an on-line magazine (some real life threads in fiction?), Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott) with fake(?) beard heads the restructuring corporate team. Ted is a major jerk— arrogant and not as smart as he thinks. Walter is the sole personal contact of legendary cover photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn). When Sean's photo negative for the cover of Life's last newsstand issue is missing, Ted focuses his attention on Walter. Sean claims this is his best photo of his career. Walter must find the missing negative to save his job and possibly win over Cheryl. Working with Cheryl, Walter starts his search in Greenland. Somehow diverting to Iceland, Walter calls Cheryl from a Papa John's Pizza there. It all ties in. 

Ben Stiller is perfect as Walter Mitty.In addition to starring, Stiller also takes on directing duty, and does a mostly wonderful job of collaborating with writer Steven Conrad in adapting Thurber's classic tale of a man's yearning for more out of life.He is inspiring, as "Walter Mitty" and amazingly never takes itself seriously. The movie joyfully celebrates life as illustrated by the beautiful soccer game with Walter and Sean in the Afghan mountains. Stiller makes us pull for Walter as he reclaims his power.you have to remember that Walter Mitty has a very active imagination. Ben Stiller's performance was so engaging, a nice break from his usual slapstick roles. If you are hoping to see him doing one of his usual humorous roles, you will be disappointed. If you want to see him capturing the emotions of a man that has a hard time expressing himself, you will love this movie.The concept - of an underachieving dreamer finally discovering the world - is something most of us can relate to.

The visuals in this film were particularly fantastic. opening sequence of street fighting on roller skate boards sets tone of modern dreams of Walter Mitty.The film's fantasy references are inspired by popular movies such as The Matrix, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Harry Potter and pretty much every superhero film ever. This hilarious and creative approach to Mitty's fantasies offers an insightful look into how uninsightful our own imaginations can be, as they crave originality but settle for what has been imagined before.From the New York offices of LIFE all the way to Iceland. Every scene was perfectly captured and just beautiful.May be Oscar-worthy camera work! . 

The movie joyfully celebrates life as illustrated by the beautiful soccer game with Walter and Sean in the Afghan mountains. Stiller makes us pull for Walter as he reclaims his power. Kristen Wiig is funny and compassionate as Walter's gentle muse . She is surprising. Sean Penn is awesome as Sean O'Connell, strong and whimsically wise. Shirley MacLaine anchors in her Mother's unconditional love for her son Walter, without many words. Patton Oswald nearly steals the show as Todd, the eHarmony profile adviser. Warm and hysterical he punctuates Walter's transformational journey. Stiller reminds us with humor and soul that Life is wonderful when we are present in it. "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is funny, beautiful and worth sharing your time with him.