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Stranger Than Fiction | 
 enlarge | Director: Marc Forster
Actors: Will Ferrell, Queen Latifah, Peter Grosz, Ricky Adams, Christian Stolte
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy Used: $1.67
You Save: $13.27 (89%)
New (66) Used (302) from $1.67
Avg. Customer Rating:  291 reviews
Sales Rank: 917
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 113
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 15407
UPC: 043396228498
EAN: 0072438251422
ASIN: B000LXH0AE
Theatrical Release Date: November 10, 2006
Release Date: February 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: LOOKS AND PLAYS GREAT, COMES IN ORIGINAL COVER BOX
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
An IRS auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to effect his entire life from his work to his love-interest to his death.System Requirements:Running Time: 113 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG - 13 UPC: 043396154070 Manufacturer No: 15407
Amazon.com
Much was written about Will Ferrell's first "dramatic role" as Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who begins hearing a voice narrating his life. But Stranger Than Fiction is hardly a drama. However, what Ferrell does--like Jim Carrey before him in The Truman Show--is handle a toned-down character with genuineness and affection: you believe he is this guy. Crick leads a lonely life filled with numbers and routines. While at first he considers the voice a nuisance, Crick decides more action is needed when it speaks of "his demise." Enter Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), who takes on the absurd notion with revelry, trying to find out what kind of book Crick's life is leading. It turns out that the voice Crick is hearing belongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a very real--and troubled--author who is writing a book in which Crick is a fictional character. As usual with these things, the stuffed shirt learns to live a better life--Crick even falls for one of his audits, a brash baker named Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Marc Foster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) has the right tone for the film, using great urban scenes (the unnamed city is Chicago) with interesting visualizations of Crick's world of numbers. He also directs Ferrell, Hoffman, and Gyllenhaal to their most charming performances (plus Linda Hunt and Tom Hulce pop up in two funny scenes). Ferrell succeeds in being a romantic lead you can root for; a scene where he eats Ana's freshly baked cookies is totally delightful without a hint of sarcasm. Screenwriter Zach Helm has two personal traits with his story: like Crick he followed his heart (he stopped rewriting scripts and only worked on his own) and like Eiffel, the final results are not a masterpiece, but good, and entertaining enough. Britt Daniel of the band Spoon worked on the dynamite soundtrack.--Doug Thomas
Extras from Stranger Than Fiction 
"Counting Brush Strokes," A featurette
on the filming of Stranger Than Fictionhigh bandwidth
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Tax Man!:
A clip from the film
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Queen Latifah on working with Emma Thompson
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Stills from Stranger Than Fiction (click for larger image) Beyond Stranger Than Fiction on Amazon.com 
Comic Actors Go Dramatic | 
CD Soundtrack | 
Emma Thompson Essentials |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 286 more reviews...
A metaphor for modern life-thumbs up! October 15, 2008
I was hesitant to watch Will Farrell in this film, but was pleasantly surprised. My favorite line of the movie was when Emma Thompson, the writer says something like, if you set out to kill the guy in the story, and the guy wants to change the outcome, wants he finds out he will die, shouldn't those be the guys you keep alive? It speaks to those people who believe in fate, vs a predefined outcome to their lives, and the film overall is a great metaphor for not letting "life pass you by", in lieu of routine and monotony.
All of the characters are well developed and the chemistry is fantastic. I love Maggie and Dustin in these roles, and Emma Thompson as usual, is standout, as she is faced with her writer's block, and struggles with writing a tragedy vs a comedy. The film also reminds us what things are important in life, and how our behavior would/would not change if faced with sudden death. Although most people would anticipate a comedy, when Will Farrel is involved, this film, laces realism with a provocative challenge of examining our lives in a more "aware" state of mind. Not what I expected-recommend for a night of reflection, laughter and consideration.
 Stranger Than Fiction October 13, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This video played to a crucial point and then IT QUIT. This was a birthday present for my daughter. We had to drive to the video store and rent it so she could see the end. The seller did reimburse us for the video, but we had to pay for the shipping. I will never buy a used video from Amazon again.
 Same basic story, clever new revision September 27, 2008
Okay, I'm a sucker for the classic story of someone-finding-out-they-are-about-to-die-and-review-their-life-for-the-good. It's been done many a time, but I guess every once in a while there is a new way to look at this tried-and-true concept. This odd little gem is one of them.
The movie does not make sense, but that is part of the charm. A quirky writers' block-stricken author is in the middle of a novel about a man who just so happens to be an actual human being... and literature and reality begin to collide. A boring IRS agent is followed by a narration of his life, while the author has no clue what she is doing... even as she announces his upcoming death.
This is delightfully quirky and well-acted, with the right blend of comedy and drama that makes for something truly heartfelt. One of the greatest movies to come along in awhile.
INSULTING CHARLIE KAUFFMAN BY COMPARISON September 22, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
I guess I saw a different movie than most of the other posters here. The movie I saw seemed like a poorly constructed Twilight Zone episode, not at all a Charlie Kauffman type film.
In my opinion, the film quickly falls apart under the shaky rules it establishes. The central problem--in addition to this seeming like a cliche from a Carol Burnett show--is that the writer herself lives in the same world as her creation. This poses all sorts of questions. For instance, if she's writing about his job/apartment, how did he come to gain employment and a job in an office in the real world? Is the office where he works also her creation? Is the apartment building? Since she also seems to control the romance between Ferrell and Maggie Gillengall(sp?), does that mean Gillengall is another character she dreamed up? If not, why does Gillengall do exactly what the author tells her to do when describing the romantic scene between Gillengall and Ferrell?
Perhaps the film might have worked better if the author created the character and he then stepped into the real world (ala Woody Allen's "Purple Rose of Cairo"), but even so, the prose the writer puts out is laughably amateurish. This novel would not see the light of day (99% tell, 1% show) and even if it did, Thompson would hardly be a respected author.
Lame. Pretentious. Predictable.
 Enjoyable comedy with original twist July 19, 2008
Will Ferrell stars in this oddball comedy of an IRS tax agent who starts hearing his life narrated, with impending doom.
This kind of reminded me of "The Truman Show", as Will Ferrell's character, alarmed at the prospect of imminent death, starts taking more risks and stops living the boring life he was used to. However, I didn't think Will Ferrell was really in his element on this one. Does anyone really see Will Ferrell as an IRS tax agent?
The film has its moments, and overall, I thought it was good, but there are a lot of better books, movies, etc. out there to see.
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