RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Stranger Than Fiction
Stranger Than Fiction

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
48 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:43

Fresh:21

Rotten:22

Average Rating:3.8/10

Consensus: A fun, whimsical tale about about an office drone trying to save his life from his narrator. The cast obviously is having a blast with the script, but Stranger Than Fiction's tidy lessons make this metaphysical movie feel like Charlie Kaufman-lite.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:01-12-2006

Synopsis: One morning, a seemingly average and generally solitary IRS agent named Harold Crick begins to hear a female voice narrating his every action, thought and feeling in alarmingly precise detail.... One morning, a seemingly average and generally solitary IRS agent named Harold Crick begins to hear a female voice narrating his every action, thought and feeling in alarmingly precise detail. Harold's carefully controlled life is turned upside down by this narration only he can hear, and when the voice declares that Harold Crick is facing imminent death, he realizes he must find out who is writing his story and persuade her to change the ending. The voice in Harold's head turns out to be the once celebrated, but now nearly forgotten, novelist Karen "Kay" Eiffel (Emma Thompson), who is struggling to find an ending for what might be her best book. Her only remaining challenge is to figure out a way to kill her main character, but little does she know that Harold Crick is alive and well and inexplicably aware of her words and her plans for him. To make matters worse, Kay's publisher has dispatched a hard-nosed "assistant," Penny Escher (Queen Latifah), to force Kay to finish her novel and finish off Harold Crick. Desperate to take control of his destiny and avoid an untimely demise, Harold seeks help from a literary theorist named Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), who suggests that Harold might be able to change his fate by turning his story from a tragedy into a comedy. Professor Hilbert suggests that Harold try to follow one of comedy's most elemental formulas: a love story between two people who hate each other. His suggestion leads Harold to initiate an unlikely romance with a free-spirited baker named Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal). As Harold experiences true love and true life for the first time, he becomes convinced that he has escaped his fate, as his story seems to be taking on all the trappings of a comedy in which he will not, and cannot, die. But Harold is unaware that in a Karen Eiffel tragedy, the lead characters always die at exactly the moment when they have the most to live for. Harold and Kay find themselves in unexplored territory as each must weigh the value of a single human existence against what might just be an immortal work of art: a novel about life and death -- and taxes. --© Sony Pictures [More]

Starring: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman

Starring: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Tony Hale, Queen Latifah, Kristin Chenoweth

Director: Marc Forster

Director: Marc Forster
Producer: Lindsay Doran, Aubrey Henderson, Jim Miller, Brittany Daniel
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Stranger Than Fiction

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/03/07
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The special edition Blu-ray disc is a treat, providing several nice extras.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
12/03/08
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

... a highly recommended purchase for major fans of the movie.

Full Review Source: DVD Review | comment Comment
12/02/08
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Strong performances and an interesting-enough script make Stranger Than Fiction an enjoyable night at the movies, even if the logic breaks down in places and the ending feels disingenuous.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
07/25/07
James Plath
James Plath
DVDTown.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: digitallyOBSESSED.com | comment Comment
06/27/07
Joel Cunningham
Joel Cunningham
digitallyOBSESSED.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: CinemaZone.dk | comment Comment
06/16/07
CinemaZone.dk
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
06/08/07
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Movies for Guys | comment Comment
05/07/07
Movies for Guys
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Movies | comment Comment
04/25/07
Liam Cullin
Liam Cullin
Empire Movies

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: DVD Clinic | comment Comment
04/25/07
Quigles
Quigles
DVD Clinic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dvdrama | comment Comment
03/24/07
Dvdrama
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

a better-than-average gimmick movie, one that takes a grabby, clever premise that would seem to have little weight and stretches it successfully over a feature-length story

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
03/10/07
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: DVD Authority.com | comment Comment
03/03/07
Matt Brighton
Matt Brighton
DVD Authority.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
02/28/07
Reel.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: DVD Verdict | comment Comment
02/28/07
Dennis Prince
Dennis Prince
DVD Verdict

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
02/27/07
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: JackassCritics.com | comment Comment
02/25/07
Mike Long
Mike Long
JackassCritics.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: dvdmg.com | comment Comment
02/23/07
dvdmg.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
02/22/07
Daniel Hirshleifer
Daniel Hirshleifer
DVDTalk.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Stranger Than Fiction

November 15, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Beowulf Set To Conquer Multiplexes
One animated film will bump another from the number one spot at the North American box office. But the new warrior Beowulf is no B movie but an A-list production from an... More...

November 08, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Fred Claus is Coming to Town
Vince Vaughn and Tom Cruise go head to head at the North American box office this weekend with their latest releases. The dodgeball champ goes for holiday laughs with Fred Claus... More...

June 20, 2007: The Next "Bond" Director Has Been Chosen
And it's certainly nobody you'd expect! More...

May 21, 2007: Four Directors Up for the Next "Bond" Flick?
Curious to know who'll be directing the next James Bond flick? Join the club. One source has a short list of potential helmers, all of whom would be pretty ... distinctive. More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Cameron Explains Blue Avatar Aliens Source: MTV
10
  • Matt Damon Expects Greengrass to Return for Fourth Bourne Source: Collider.com
4
  • Burton's Dark Shadows Rising in 2010 Source: Sci Fi Wire
2
  • Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things Are
27
  • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
20
  • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
17
  • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
201
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
22
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
24
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
26
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
83
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
57
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
40
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
37
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: The Blind Side Takes the Lead
29
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
24
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
24
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Stranger Than Fiction at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Stranger Than Fiction at IGN
  • Stranger Than Fiction at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.