MeekinOnMovies On....The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Now Available On Demand!)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was a short story about a man with an oppressive wife who constantly has flights of fancy in order to escape her meandering omnipresence. Due to its popularity and name recognition, a movie about the short story kicked around Hollywood for awhile, getting attached to names like Jim Carey, eventually finding its way into the hands of Ben Stiller, who stars and directs the very loose adaptation.  

Stiller's a great choice as he's an actor who built almost his entire resume on willingly embarrassing himself in front of Robert DeNiro, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and most recently Eddie Murphy. In Meet The Parents he was brilliant at generating palpable uncomfortable silences that made the audience erupt with laughter. In Tropic Thunder he directed Robert Downey Jr to an Oscar Nomination for a comedy. Heck, the only reason Zoolander succeeded is because he played the titular character with such a serious earnestness you legitmately felt bad for the guy.

These are wonderful clubs to have in the bag if you're making a light hearted drama about a guy who thinks too much. And boy oh boy, does he come out swinging.