Is Will Ferrell a comedic genius?

I'm not convinced. Sure, he has his moments where's very funny, but he misses with regularity as well. I'll just say that I think he's quite talented. Part of my difficulty probably stems from the fact that a lot of his movies are not really geared towards me as an audience. That is to say, his humour seems directed (in large part) at audience that is one step up from the Jackass audience. He does, however, have his moments where he takes a step or two up from that and Stranger Than Fiction was one of those moments. More thoughts after the jump.

For those who haven't seen it yet, Ferrell plays an IRS agent who lives an extremely dull and routine life. He has a pattern from which he never deviates. That is, until he begins hearing a woman's voice (Emma Thompson) narrating his life. As if that wasn't bad enough, that a voice only he hears describes his every action and calls into relief thoughts and feelings he doesn't want to admit even to himself, eventually the voice speaks of his imminent demise without being specific about how it is to take place.

Now Ferrell embarks on a frantic quest to determine what is going on and what, if anything, can be done about it. I don't want to spoil the movie too much, so let me just add a few more general points. Ferrell does a good job of being an endearing schmoe. Emma Thompson is, well, Emma Thompson, so that part's all right. Maggie Gyllenhaal is unconvincing as the love interest, but it seems to be less her fault than a lack of imagination on the part of the screenwriter. I get awfully tired of men and women who fall in love at the drop of a hat.

The ending was weaker than it ought to have been, but I think that it was as good as it could have been considering the type of movie and the tone for which they were striving. They hit the marks they wanted to hit, but at the expense of making a movie that could have been as good as The Truman Show. In the hands of Kurosawa, it might even has been as good as Rashomon, but that may just be me wishing for something that good because I like the premise so much. If the plot sounds interesting, I'd suggest watching it. But don't go in with your hopes up too high; they'll just be dashed to the ground again.