# Stranger than Fiction, the triumph of Conservatism over Socialism??



## elder999 (Mar 21, 2011)

In the 2006 film, _Stranger Than Fiction_, Harold Crick, a lonely IRS auditor portrayed (brilliantly!) by Will Ferrell, leads a humdrum life, precisely metered by his watch, and an almost Asperger&#8217;s-like relationship with numbers. He counts his toothbrush strokes; he counts cracks in the sidewalk; he counts tiles in the floor, and these are the sort of things that rule his existence until the day he awakens to hear his life being narrated, his each and every action being described by a voice only he can hear. 

Harold is assigned to audit Ana, a socialist baker who simply refuses to pay the portion of her income tax that would go towards military spending. In the course of the movie, Harold tries to determine what sort of novel he&#8217;s in, and who is writing it, because one of the things that the narrator offers is that his death is going to be soon. Ultimately, Harold embraces the idea of his impending death, and embraces life.He learns to play the guitar, develops a closer relationship with his friend from work, and with Ana Pascal, the socialist baker. In a tender moment the night before he knows he is to die, he tells her that she can deduct the cost of the baked goods she gives to the poor, and offset the amount that she isn&#8217;t paying. 

So, is this (really fun and well written) movie symbolic of the triumph of socialism, of the nanny state government taking care of the baker? Or is it a triumph of conservatism, of the tax-man getting the socialist to work with the system? Or is it a triumph of the idea of predestination and literary devices?


Or is it SIMPLY A GODDAM GOOD STORY SOMEONE MADE UP &#8211;*MAYBEDOYOUTHINK?*

Here's Harold Crick singing Wreckless Eric's _Whole Wide World_, and winning over Ana Pascal:

[yt]8jS7AD-lqwA[/yt]

Oh, yeah:......"_discuss."_  :lfao:


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## Bill Mattocks (Mar 21, 2011)

Well, now I definitely want to see this one.  Sounds like a Howard K. Dick novel or perhaps Kurt Vonnegut.  Some kind of existential mashup.


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## Big Don (Mar 21, 2011)

It could have been a good movie, too, except for one fatal flaw: Will Goddamn Ferrell.


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## elder999 (Mar 21, 2011)

Big Don said:


> It could have been a good movie, too, except for one fatal flaw: Will Goddamn Ferrell.



Will Ferrell was surprisingly good: believable and understated.

Hater. :lol:


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## Big Don (Mar 21, 2011)

elder999 said:


> Will Ferrell was surprisingly good: believable and understated.
> 
> Hater. :lol:


Come on, Jeff, you simply cannot be serious. Ferrell plays the same role in EVERY movie, there is a reason for this, he is a singularly BAD ACTOR.


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## elder999 (Mar 21, 2011)

Big Don said:


> Come on, Jeff, you simply cannot be serious. Ferrell plays the same role in EVERY movie, there is a reason for this, he is a singularly BAD ACTOR.



He simply wasn't: "the same" in this. Think Jim Carey in _ The Truman Show_ vs _Ace Ventura_


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## Bill Mattocks (Mar 21, 2011)

elder999 said:


> He simply wasn't: "the same" in this. Think Jim Carey in _ The Truman Show_ vs _Ace Ventura_



I didn't care for _"The Truman Show."_  I did like Carrey in _"The Majestic"_ though.  I got your point, though.  It's a shame when actors get typecast and can't be considered for roles when they can't be some other character.  Didn't Bill Murray recently do a dramatic turn as well?  Something where he didn't play the ironic-self-absorbed-yet-intelligent-and-caring funny guy?


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## shesulsa (Mar 21, 2011)

I really liked Will Farrell in this movie - most especially because he put his Step-Brother ish schtick to the side.  It was *refreshing* and *revealing* and I want to buy this film.

As to the political connotations ... mmmph ... my swimming pool's not that deep right now - haven't finished java cup #1 and haven't had my Fiber One yet either!


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## LuckyKBoxer (Mar 21, 2011)

I like will farrell in his more caveman like roles.... Old School never gets old.... WERE GOING STREAKING IN THE QUAD!!!!!
lol

but ya this movie?? I fell asleep twice watching it, just could not get into it.

I am not even sure I have any interest in trying to rewatch it at some point lol


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## girlbug2 (Mar 21, 2011)

I got a completely different take on Ana--she represents a libertarian POV with regard to taxes. Forget for a moment the "hippie" trappings of her life; she didn't want to pay taxes. Regardless of her specific rationale for that, paying taxes and championing tax increases is traditionally-stereotypically? the province of liberals.


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## Omar B (Mar 21, 2011)

Spoiler tags about the end of the movie would have been nice.


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## Big Don (Mar 21, 2011)

Omar B said:


> Spoiler tags about the end of the movie would have been nice.


Good point. Stranger than Fiction debuted in 2006, so, it is a 5 year old movie. At what point in time is it safe to assume enough people have seen a given movie that spoiler alerts need not be given?


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## Omar B (Mar 21, 2011)

I don't know, but I didn't see the movie but read the thread because Elder is the topic starter.  I though, "I'll get a kick out of this topic and catch it on TV sometime this week" since TBS has started running it.


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## elder999 (Mar 21, 2011)

girlbug2 said:


> I got a completely different take on Ana--she represents a libertarian POV with regard to taxes. Forget for a moment the "hippie" trappings of her life; she didn't want to pay taxes. Regardless of her specific rationale for that, paying taxes and championing tax increases is traditionally-stereotypically? the province of liberals.


 

Actually, she was paying taxes, she just wasn't paying the portion owed that represented military spending.  Which has been about $0.42 of every dollar for quite some time, so it's not like she was paying what was owed......hence the audit. She also distributed free bread, pastries and coffee to the homeless......


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## billc (Mar 21, 2011)

Did she also insist that the rich pay their fair share?


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## elder999 (Mar 21, 2011)

billcihak said:


> Did she also insist that the rich pay their fair share?


 
Did you get the part where I don't even care? :lol:

(And, you do realize that the *rich* generally insist on paying their "fair share?")


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## girlbug2 (Mar 22, 2011)

elder999 said:


> Actually, she was paying taxes, she just wasn't paying the portion owed that represented military spending. Which has been about $0.42 of every dollar for quite some time, so it's not like she was paying what was owed......hence the audit. She also distributed free bread, pastries and coffee to the homeless......


 
Okay, I stand corrected. She still sounds libertarian to my way of thinking: a small business owner that takes a stand on taxes because she disagrees with what the gov't is spending them on.  Btw, conservatives also have been known to contribute to charity, homeless included...just sayin'.


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## elder999 (Mar 22, 2011)

girlbug2 said:


> Okay, I stand corrected. She still sounds libertarian to my way of thinking: a small business owner that takes a stand on taxes because she disagrees with what the gov't is spending them on.  Btw, conservatives also have been known to contribute to charity, homeless included...just sayin'.


Hell, some people consider ME a conservative,  :lol:

More to the point: _shhhh!!_ you do get that it's really about the silliness
of  labeling films"right wing"  or "left wing" based on content that has NOTHING to do with reality?


I mean, who cares if " Miss Pascal" is a socialist, or Communist, or libertarian-shes Harold's love interest, and a plotfoil- she could as easily be a tea party member or a Christian believer in charity....


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## billc (Mar 22, 2011)

Perhaps if she held back tax money to NPR, Planned Parenthood, the department of education, the department of energy, and any number of other government departments of waste and corruption it would make for a more original character.


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## girlbug2 (Mar 22, 2011)

elder999 said:


> Hell, some people consider ME a conservative, :lol:
> 
> More to the point: _shhhh!!_ you do get that it's really about the silliness
> of labeling films"right wing" or "left wing" based on content that has NOTHING to do with reality?
> ...


 
 Ohhhhhkay.


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