Mitty is the greatest man in the world according to his lucid day-dreams where he picks up on his love interest, saves a dog from a burning building and more. What’s great about this film is that it could be called a movie about a mid-life crisis but does well to avoid the subject all together through good screen-writing and the romantic comedy angle.
Cheryl Melhoff played by Kristen Wiig is the woman of Walter Mitty’s eye and also his co-worker. For much of the movie, this love interest is forgotten but kept in our minds through Ben Stiller’s contact with the Help Desk guy at eHarmony.com who is helping him develop his profile. The beginning scene of the movie that is played in the movie trailer, set’s the tone of the character’s persona. A failed attempt to send a “wink” online which leads us to finding out that he is a normal everyday 9-5er with not much going for him but his work and his entertaining, occasional escapes from reality.
The movie begins to play out action-packed day-dreams in his real life persona when he has to seek out a missing negative for work. The situation is this: Mitty works at Life magazine which is being taken over by new management who are shutting it down in favor of Life magazine “online”. There is turmoil in the office place and uncertainty as to who will keep their jobs. This is used for comedic circumstance and the drama unfolds that Mitty is supposed to receive the last cover photo from a nomadic photographer played by Sean Penn, who is impossible to find.
Needless to say, the photo negative is missing and Mitty takes it upon himself to find the photographer and the negative. There is a back-story to Mitty’s life that we will leave unsung here, so that when you watch the movie it will resonate with you and not ruin the performance. We will say it has to do with family and makes the character feel real and at the same time fit’s into the plot of the movie well.
On Mitty’s quest to find the negative he meet’s odd character’s like a drunk helicopter pilot and even the aforementioned Help Desk Guy played by Patton Oswalt. He fight’s off a shark and long-boards down a hill in a rush only to be chased back up the hill by a volcano eruption. There are many more scenes that add to the action and adrenaline rush of Mitty’s quest. The movie throws Mitty through such a fiery loop that it is only natural when we get to the last scene’s were he admits he doesn’t day-dream as much anymore.
Overall, this movie will take you away from the standard of movie blockbuster’s without forgoing action that is not of the senseless kind. Scenes that actually play a purpose in the plot. In our opinion it beat’s the standard plot of most romantic comedies where guy likes girl, guy has to prove himself to girl, guy messes up, guy gets girl. Dare we say, it is a romantic comedy for adults. Even though it is not the most thrilling plot, by the end you will be glad to have enjoyed the quest with Walter Mitty and most likely you will wish him well as you part ways through the isles of the movie theater.
