Movie Review: "The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty"

"The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty": B.  Just like the Walter Mitty in James Thurber's famous short story, Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) of the movie is handicapped by a runaway imagination which puts him into situations very distant from his real present.  These mental escapes usually set him up for unbelievable acts of heroism. Sometimes this strange phenomenon functions as a liability, such as when Walter is in the presence of his Life Magazine superior, Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott), whose dismal purpose is to direct the magazine's transition from a print publication to on-line only.  This means downsizing, which is corporate speak for job termination.  Most of Life's personnel, including the strangely behaving Walter and his pretty colleague, Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig), are likely candidates to get the axe.

As if this tense atmosphere didn't furnish enough pressure, Walter has misplaced the negative (# 25) entrusted to him by world famous photojournalist Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn), a frequent Life contributor. The image, described as the quintessential portrait of the human condition, was submitted by O'Connell with the clear expectation that Life would use it as the cover photo for its last-ever print issue.  Every time Hendricks sees Walter in the office, he asks to see the prized photo, whereupon Walter concocts an excuse.

In an effort to locate the negative and thereby have a better chance of retaining his job, Walter needs to locate McConnell.  The problem is two-fold: McConnell could be anywhere in the world, and he does not bother to use a cell phone.  Walter's search takes him to Greenland, Iceland and Afghanistan.  This journey consumes a large part of the movie.

In keeping with the spirit of Thurber's craftsmanship, this is a silly movie.  Walter doesn't really have to go to both Greenland and Iceland -- one would have done just as nicely, thank you very much -- but by extending his overseas sojourn there are more opportunities for not only laughs but preposterous sequences.  One of the funniest scenes occurs when Walter arrives in Nuuk, Greenland, an icy oasis on the tundra wastelands. He walks into a bar called Tuugaalik, where a big bearded drunk (Icelandic actor Olafur Darri Olafsson) is singing karaoke (The Human League's 1981 hit, Dont You Want Me, to be precise).  None of the other half dozen bar patrons are paying a bit of attention, and the poor galoot can barely stand up straight.  About three minutes later Walter finds out that O'Connell might be on a boat sailing off Greenland's coast, but the only way to get to the vessel is by the postal service helicopter.  Who do you think the pilot is?  That's right, the drunken singer!

Walter's crush on the pleasant Cheryl is revisited from time to time, and Shirley MacLaine has a small part as Walter's mom who, being aware of her son's idiosyncrasies, looks out for his bests interests.  A minor side-story involves Walter's attempts to hook up anonymously with Cheryl or another woman by using an on-line dating service.  Just when you've forgotten about this sub-plot, it appears out of the blue toward the story's end.

I would be curious to know what kind of deal the film's producers and the studio worked out with the ownership of Life Magazine, which generally is not shown in a favorable light.  As I mentioned before in my April 17, 2013 review of The Place Beyond The Pines (with reference to the city of Schenectady, New York), using a real entity like Life is much more effective than inventing a fictitious one.

Did this new Ben Stiller movie do justice to Thurber's 1939 classic short story?  As you know from reading my December 26, 2013 post (The Book I've Read Five Times), I am very fond of Thurber's work.  The new film is only the second time Hollywood has attempted to put the story on film.  (The first was in 1947, and starred Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo).  In a word, my answer is "yes."  I was entertained and feel like Stiller and company put forth a solid worthy effort, easily deserving of a B.