The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 
Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Sean Penn, Patton Oswalt
Directed by: Ben Stiller
Rated: PG
Run Time: 114 mins
Genre: Adventure/ Comedy/ Drama
Opens December 25th
By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com
Another film throwing its hat into the holiday box office is a film that’s not only a remake of the 1947 version starring Danny Kaye, but has been in development on and off since 1995. There has been several stars and directors attached to the project, but it was Ben Stiller to pull off getting the finished project into theaters. Will audiences enjoy this film or is one of those films that should have never been remade?
To deal with his mundane life, Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) frequently wanders off in his day dreams as a coping mechanism. His job for the past 19 years, Life Magazine is laying off tons of people as it is going thru a rebrand and digitizing it’s content. For the most part, Walter thinks he’s safe, but when the final cover negative from famed photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn) goes missing, his new boss Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott) has it out for him. To make matters worse, the girl of his dreams Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig) may or may not be dating someone else.
It’s not until Cheryl suggests to Walter on a clever way to track down the missing negative, treat it like its a mystery novel that Walter’s dreams of traveling become a reality. Will Walter be able to find the negative in time or will all of Walter’s hard work over the past two decades be for naught?
Sometimes remakes, especially those that sit in development hell for decades at a time, turn out worse than the original. In this case, this is untrue. What Ben Stiller accomplishes in this film is film magic. Using the movie wizards in the special effects world, with a combined subdued comic performance from Wiig and Stiller, this film is a heartwarming journey into the mind and life of daydreamer Walter Mitty. At the core of the story are messages of inspiration, hope and courage to go follow those dreams to see where life may take you. Be sure to catch “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty when it opens in theaters starting Wednesday December 25, 2013.
