Every now and again I find myself drawn to certain pieces of visual entertainment that tend to strike a deeper chord than I think may have been intended from the beginning. When I first watched Stranger than Fiction I recall it being promoted as a comedy, probably because "comedic actor" Will Ferrell is the central figure of the story. While not a comedy in my eyes, it has certain comedic elements that lend itself to that style. It's a heart wrenching, inspiring piece of decent people in a strange situation. It's got great actors filling out small roles of average people with everyday quirks, foibles and idiosyncrasies. It makes you feel for just about every character, getting into the mindset of them and making them as real as possible, for a movie viewing audience. It's a film with such a strong story and well defined characters that it makes me scream whenever I see the incessant drek continually being released on the big and small screen. The strength of story strikes me to do better in my own writing and I always think of what has become the funniest and most memorable scene in the movie to me, when Harold Crick says to Ana Pascal after eating some of her freshly baked cookies, "Thank you for forcing me to eat them."
Thank you, Stranger than Fiction, for forcing me to be a better writer.
