'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty' & 'Saving Mr. Banks' Reviews

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty is a feel good comedy directed and starring Ben Stiller as the titular Mitty. Walter Mitty is a negative asset manager for Life magazine on the eve of it's take over. He is unassuming, shy, and frequently lost in his imagination. When the negative for the final cover of the magazine is lost he sheds his skin and travels the world to track it down.

From beginning to end the film lacks that which it most earnestly wants to have- heart. Stiller's performance is shallow and distracted maybe from doing double duty. Mitty goes through no transformation, we don't see a change, he simply turns on a dime from mild-mannered to adventurer for no particular reason. The film operates at a hyper pace moving from location to location so quickly there is no time to appreciate the beauty the filmmakers obviously went to great lengths to provide. The scope of the film is so large its actual narrative is lost.

The film can't decide whether it wants to be a comedy or drama and fails to achieve either. There is a cuteness about everything that rings false. The wonderful supporting cast is wasted because it seems they were given no direction. Sean Penn as famous photographer Sean O'Connell seems to be the only one to strike the proper balance of humor and gravitas and his appearance is brief, one scene the high point of the film.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is reminiscent of Stranger Than Fiction without the balance, mystery, or spirit.

Rent It.

Saving Mr. Banks is a historical comedy about the struggle to make Marry Poppins. The movie follows the efforts of Walt Disney(Tom Hanks) to procure film rights from P.L. Travers(Emma Thompson) the author of the series. The story follows Travers collaboration/confrontation with Disney and his production team  juxtaposed with flashbacks from Travers' childhood in the Australian outback.

Ultimately the Disney made production casts Walt Disney as the charming, affable, reasonable good guy and P.L. Travers as the protective, high strung, quasi-sympathetic villain. The sympathy the movie attempts to construct is developed through the telling of Travers unsettling childhood however Thompson's strident performance makes her entire back story ineffective. Hanks as Disney is likable but two dimensional, nothing particular interesting but pleasant to watch.

The narrative itself isn't particularly interesting which begs the question- why make it? Rumor is a company was going to make the movie when Disney purchased the rights, possibly to protect the image or portrayal of its patriarch.

In any case, Saving Mr. Banks is calculating. It is interesting because it tells the story of a film most people already love. Its manufactured touching moments are touching. Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson draw attention because they are two extremely charismatic and talented actors. But the movie wears off fast, like a sugar high. Upon reflection it's poignant moments reveal their dullness.

Saving Mr. Banks is contrived by-the-numbers sentimentality that works.

Rent It.