The Secret Life of Ben Stiller

  On New Year’s Eve, I went to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with my grandparents.  I went into the beautiful yet expensive theater expecting to see a movie bearing some profound, thought-provoking message, similar to a PG version of Inception.  I was, however, let down in that regard.  I went to see the movie again, two weeks later, with my parents, this time in an ordinary, everyday Regal theater.  I was surprised to find that I enjoyed considerably more the second time I saw it: without any expectations as to what I might find in the movie, I found it much more entertaining and touching.

  Walter Mitty is a negative assets manager (picture caretaker) at LIFE Magazine who dreams of love and adventure.  He dreams of knocking his new nasty boss, and expressing his love for his co-worker Cheryl Melhoff, whom he has a secret crush on.  One day, when he is working on the final cover for LIFE Magazine, one of the negatives - negative 25 - goes missing.  After his boss threatens to fire him, Mitty sets out to Greenland in search of Sean O'Connell, the man who took the elusive negative 25, as well as many of LIFE's cover photos.  In his journey to find Sean, Walter begins to live the adventures he always dreamed of having, and his daydreams are replied by real adventures.

  As I said before, I had expected a thoughtful, profound film on the difference between reality and fiction.  Instead, I found the movie to present a much simpler, if no less profound, message: do what you love and dream to do.  It was a message I completely missed the first time around.  Seeing the film a second time, I saw the simplicity with which the story is told, and yet it was no less poignant in spite of that simplicity.  The entire message is pretty much summed up in the climactic (and rather humorous) scene when Walter finally finds Sean O'Connell high up in the Himalayas:

Walter Mitty: When are you going to take it? (picture of snow leopard)
Sean O'Connell: Sometimes I don't. If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don't like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it.
Walter Mitty: Stay in it?
Sean O'Connell: Yeah. Right there… Right Here.
LIFE's motto, which also sums up the meaning of the movie rather well, is repeated several times throughout the movie: To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.

  I must also commend the movie for its beautiful cinematography.  It takes advantage of amazing landscapes in Iceland, Greenland, and the Himalayas, as well as managing to make the bustling city of New York seem beautiful.  There is one shot where Walter is skateboarding down a road in Iceland, allowing the viewer to gaze out over the gorgeous canyon below.  In another instance, Mitty goes on a helicopter ride out to a cargo boat that Sean O’ Connell had possibly been on.  The camera zooms out and you can see the helicopter surrounded by tens of thousands of miles of open sea; dark clouds line the sky adding to the amazing lighting of the scene.  The film also has a very distinct look, using shots that look straight down on the scene from above as well as simple shots looking directly at the characters.

   

  The film also tried to include an element of comedy within itself.  In the opening scene, Walter Mitty tries to leave a “wink” on his coworker’s, who he has a crush on, eHarmony page, rather than just talk to her at work.  In another instance, Walter goes on a helicopter ride out to sea with an extremely drunk pilot while a storm threatens to begin.  The movie uses a bunch of comedic stereotypes as well.  These additions of comedy were probably a result of Ben Stiller’s all-encompassing involvement in the film as star, director, and one of several co-producers.  The comedy doesn't truly add anything to the film, it doesn't detract from it either.

  One would have to downgrade the movie for its abundance of product placement.  eHarmony, Papa John's, Mcdonald's, KFC, and, of course, LIFE magazine are all mentioned and referenced in the movie.  Several movies, including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Indiana Jones are also mentioned/mocked during the course of the film.  While these references are the butts of several jokes throughout the movie, I found the excessive advertisement annoying, finding it to take away from the movie rather than add anything special or necessary.
Walter Mitty: Hey, do you know our motto?
Ted Hendricks: Life, I'm loving it.
  Most of the characters in the film, unfortunately, are pretty one-dimensional.  Ted Hendricks, the new boss, who's managing the transition to "LIFE Online" is especially one-sided.  He is portrayed as the bully in the film, mocking Walter for his daydreaming and flicking paper clips at him when he zones out.  Ben Stiller plays his generic, inarticulate "yeah-no" character:
Cheryl Melhoff: Oh, are you coming?
Walter Mitty: Yeah, I'm not…  yeah, I have to stay.
Cheryl Melhoff, Mitty's secret crush, also has an inarticulate, stuttering personality, but as this is an expression of her nervousness around Walter, whom we are supposed to believe Cheryl has a crush on too, it is excusable under the circumstances.  All the LIFE employees, too, are dull, stereotypical characters.  Sean O'Connell, however, is a nice break from the tedium, presenting a little more depth of character for the five minutes of the movie he was in.

  On a note rather unrelated to the movie itself, I felt I needed to review the (fancy) theater itself.  The particular theater chain was called Cinépolis, a title that my grandparents and I found considerably difficult to pronounce.  The outside of the theater was beautiful: the front wall was constructed completely of glass, and two large stone pillars supported the overhanging roof.  Directly inside was a large, open room, with tables placed about like a restaurant.  After purchasing our tickets, we were escorted by a man in a formal suit to our seats.  The plush leather seats in and of themselves were a luxury; they reclined all the way forward and back at the viewer’s wish, via a button on the side of the chair, and unlike regular theater seats, had significant room in between one another.  On one side of the seat was a button you could press for service, and a waiter/waitress would come and take your order form the menu conveniently provided by your seat.  My grandma, who preferred to sit up straighter than the seat allowed, asked if she could get a pillow, and one was kindly brought out for her use during the movie.  All in all it was a very nice experience, although I'm not sure it was worth the extra four and a half dollars you pay for the ambiance.

Grade (for the movie):  A  -  A great movie all in all.   

Grade (for the fancy theater): B+  -  The prices are a little steep for the extra ambiance.

Grade (for the normal theater): C+  -  They raised their ticket prices by a dollar – NOT COOL!!!