The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Once again the spirit of the famous James Thurber short story has been violated. It starts off okay, with today’s amazing visual effects used well for Walter’s daydreaming fantasies. But then, for some reason, it takes Ben Stiller off on real adventures, from Greenland to Iceland to the farthest reaches of Afghanistan. It takes place in some alternate universe where Life magazine is still being published. Walter is being fired, along with almost everyone else.

I was disappointed. I think the fantasy adventure idea is much more compelling, but they decided to go for the more mundane story of a dweeb learning to be a man, and of course getting the girl of his dreams at the end. The only really funny thing here is Walter’s interaction on the phone with an online dating service. The guy on the other end is trying to make Walter’s profile a bit more exciting, and when the phone rings deep in the Himalayas, sure enough, it’s the dating service guy. Other than that, there’s just not much here that’s funny.