The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (PG13) – Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Sean Penn and Shirley MacLaine, directed by Ben Stiller
As seems to be the fashion in Hollywood at the moment, the big film released this week is a remake.
Ben Stiller’s latest release, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, is a retread of the 1947 adventure comedy, which itself was adapted from James Thurber’s short story written in 1939. The piece has also been adapted for the stage and radio over the past 74 years since its creation, with the term ‘Mitty-esque’ even making it into everyday speech, used to describe anyone who constantly daydreams.
Walter Mitty (Stiller) regularly zones out, fantasizing about heroic deeds and noteworthy actions that the ordinary man would never pull off in real life. An anonymous character, Walter has few friends, lives a routine life and often goes unnoticed. When his and his colleagues’ jobs at LIFE magazine are threatened, Walter’s wildest dreams turn into reality as he embarks on a journey of extraordinary adventures to try to save the company. Inspired by Cheryl Melhoff (Wiig), his beautiful colleague and the one person who notices him, Walter heroically scales mountains and treks across vast lands on his quest.
While the 1947 adaptation was far from Thurber’s original storyline, the 2013 film uses the short story merely as inspiration for a modern rom-com with a fantastical twist.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty hits cinemas this Thursday, 19th December.
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