STRANGER THAN FICTION: IRS tax-collector Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) leads a boring, monotonous life until he realizes that he is the main character in a fictional novel. He seeks the assistance of a college professor (Dustin Hoffman) to help him find his author (Emma Thompson) before she kills him off...STRANGER THAN FICTION is full of surprises. It marks a real departure for Will Ferrell, who doesn't play a loud, over the top, SNL caricature in this film. Instead, Ferrell tries his hand at a somewhat more earnest and serious role; one in which he’s practically the straight man. Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson and Maggie Gyllenhaal really provide the color in this film, and all give great performances. STRANGER THAN FICTION is not as layered or self-referential as ADAPTATION (2002), and there isn’t as much bizarre fantasy stuff going on as one would expect from a movie about a man living in a fictitious world… but it’s still worth checking out!
