When I told a colleague about seeing Ben Stiller’s new film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, teased in front of last weekend’s #1 release, The Wolverine, she countered back with, “Where’s Danny Kaye when you need him?”
Mitty is based on James Thurber’s 1939 short story, which was adapted to film as a 1947 musical fantasy starring Kaye, and is about the journey a man takes by escaping into his daydreams. Thurber acknowledged that he was never a fan of Kaye’s interpretation of his story, let’s see how Stiller’s adaption will be.
Usually with Stiller he’s hit or miss on the acting front, but as a filmmaker you have to admit his choices are audacious. From Reality Bites and The Cable Guy to Zoolander and Tropic Thunder, his output may be small, but each has its fair share of fans, be they cult or mainstream (mostly cult, though).
I was surprised that it’s taken this long for the trailer to pop up on the Internet, usually they drop the day it’s supposed to be attached to a new theatrical release. I’ve seen this trailer at least six times as of this writing, and it still amazes me. A combination of interesting visuals and a song (Of Monsters and Men’s “Dirty Paws”) that hooks you, it’s hard to not be intrigued by The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Working from Steve Conrad’s script, Ben Stiller is joined by Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, and Sean Penn.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opens on Christmas Day.
Watch it in HD by clicking on the image below.
