Episode #186: Stranger Than Fiction – Comfort Rewatch

This week, we’re discussing one of Emma’s favorite comfort watch movies for decor and home inspiration. This is an ongoing series for us, and this week’s selection is Stranger Than Fiction, directed by Marc Foster and written by Zach Helm.

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Show Notes:

Harold’s Apartment:

• Feels like an IKEA catalog
• Very plain and bland
• Represents his boring life

Karen’s Office:

• Sterile and bland
• Spilled coffee and cigarettes everywhere
• Not a lot of furniture

Ana’s Bakery (The Uprising):

• Eclectic and messy cute
• Industrial and very open

Ana’s Apartment:

• Thrift shop, boho, and cozy
• Nothing matches
• Cool and weird light fixture above the dining table

Professor Hilbert’s Office:

• Elsie’s favorite interior in the movie
• A modern office that’s half windows with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves

Rate the Movie From 0 to 5 Wristwatches: 

Elsie – 5 wristwatches

Emma – 5 wristwatches

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Episode 186 Transcript:

Emma: You’re listening to the A Beautiful Mess Podcast, your cozy comfort listen. This week we’re discussing one of my favorite comfort watch movies of all time, Stranger Than Fiction. This is an ongoing series for us and we are really excited about this movie, and it was directed by Mark Foster and written by Zach Helm.

Elsie: Okay, so this movie is from 2006. I was just posting this morning on Instagram, pictures of it that I was watching it. I’ve been trying to do that a little more to give people a warning of what movie’s gonna be next, and a lot of people messaged me and did not know what the movie was, which I was kind of surprised by the clips I showed.

Emma: I do feel like this is less known of all the comfort rewatch we’ve done so far. This is much less known than anything we’ve done so far, I think. 

Elsie: Yeah, I think it’s gone a little bit under the radar also it’s 2006 is a pretty long time ago. 

Emma: I was in college. Yeah. 

Elsie: I was like looking it up in this movie, it’s Will Ferrell is the star of this movie, and this only came out like three years after Elf came out, which to me that’s like a long time ago, or it feels like it at least. 

Emma: Yeah. Do you wanna give a synopsis? Since so many people haven’t seen this, we better tell ’em what it’s about.

Elsie: Yes. Okay. Everyone knows that your life is a story, but what if a story was your life? Harold Crick, played by Will Ferrell is your average IRS agent, monotonous, boring, and repetitive. Well, that’s a little mean, but one day this all changes when Harold begins to hear an author in his head narrating his life, the narrator is extraordinarily accurate, and Harold realizes that the voice is an esteemed author that he saw on television. When the narration reveals that he’s going to die, Harold must find the author of the story and ultimately his life to convince her to change the ending of the story before it is too late. 

Emma: Yeah. So I feel like that’s part of what I loved about this movie. So I first saw it in theaters when it came out in 2006 and I was in college because I remember I saw a friend of mine from school and it was like one of those friends where we would always sit by each other in this one philosophy class, and we would always share notes and we were friends for sure, but we never hung out outside of class. 

Elsie: Like seeing your teacher at the grocery store. 

Emma: Yeah. It was like, I bumped into him at the movie theater and we’re both kind of like, oh. Hi, and it was almost like this little bit of awkwardness because it was like, we are friends. Like we literally talk every week, but we just had never hung out, socially. Just, I don’t know, it’s funny how college is. So somehow that kind of sticks out in my mind as far as things I remember from first seeing this movie. And I don’t remember who I saw this with, who knows. You should have seen it with that friend because he was awesome. But anyway. So a lot of times when we do comfort re-watches, we do love the movies. We do always love the movies, but also a lot of times we’re kind of talking about the interior design and the vibes, and we are gonna talk about that for sure. But for me, this movie was more about how it’s kind of built around being literary, it’s like supposed to be about an author who’s writing a book, and it turns out that character is real. And so, it’s very much doing a lot of literary tropes and trying to be kind of witty with those types of things. And I just loved it. I love reading and so I love all the scenes where he’s like with the professor trying to figure out what kind of book he’s in. Like they’re trying to figure out if he’s in a comedy or a tragedy or if he’s solving a murder mystery or if he has magical powers or all these things, and it’s just very, very funny and fun and kind of reminds me of all the great books I’ve read at the same time. But it’s definitely a weird movie, which is why I feel like you’ve either seen it and you’re like, have an idea about it or you’ve never seen it because it’s just a very random, weird movie. Do you remember the first time you saw it? 

Elsie: I don’t remember the first time I saw it. I know that I had a DVD of it when you would still have a DVD collection, more than 10 years ago.

So it was a movie that I really loved and I guess the thing I most remember about it is that this was the era, like I said, it was only a few years after ELF came out. In this era, Will Ferrell was one of the biggest movie stars for a bit of time and I think he’s like super cute in this movie. I like kind of have a crush on him. And I did a survey on Instagram and the majority of people also experience some kind of crush. So I think it’s adorable that he had his rom-com moment and yeah, so I guess I was really focused on that, and I also love Maggie Gyllenhaal in the movie, I think she looks so cute. Also, have a thing for Dustin Hoffman and his character’s really cool and just seems like someone you would wanna hang out with in this movie, his office it, once we get into it, his office is for sure my favorite interior space in the movie by like a mile. It’s really good, and just the volunteer lifeguard duties. It’s just really cute, It’s a very sweet movie, and I guess I should also say this movie has so many famous people in it that I was like, I forgot 99% of them, I just remembered the main two. But also Emma Thompson is so cool in this movie, she was kinda stressing me out a lot with her shaky, shaky hands with the cigarettes throughout it, but yeah, she was very cool. She definitely played the sort of pretentious author, very well. I kind of do have a lot of love for her as well, like so many good movies. 

Emma: I do too. And oddly enough too, may not mention this in another part, so I wanna mention it now, Queen Latifah’s in it too. She plays Emma Thompson’s assistant that’s sent by the publisher to help her finish her book, and so they kind of have this sort of fighting relationship throughout. And she’s really funny in this movie too, but she’s a very stoic, calm presence because she’s supposed to be a person who likes to help you finish your book. But anyway, she’s great in this too. 

Elsie: In the early two thousands Queen Latifah was in like every movie for a time or like every movie that I watched for a long time. So yeah, it definitely is a time capsule in many ways of the early two thousands or I guess like the mid two thousand but yeah, I thought it aged really well, there was nothing about it where I was like that aged horribly. I think it’s sort of believably the last definitely decade or the last time in my lifetime when not everyone was on their phones. Because I noticed there are hardly any cell phones in the movie, and that definitely changed in the coming 10 years, it was like, if you wanna make a modern movie, then everyone has a phone all the time. In this movie, they’re still using payphones and stuff, which is kind of fun. 

Emma: Yes. Landlines. Yeah. Watches.

Elsie: Yes. I love that. Love that pre-cellphone era, for sure.

Emma: Yeah, and in this movie, actually his watch is a little bit of a character like his watch is almost a little bit sentient and causes things to happen, which is sort of something that like gets narrated and it feels very literary and it’s just kind of wacky. I also feel like this movie does such a great job of like, helping you. We were talking about this the other day, Elsie and I, that some books would make amazing movies, and then there are times you read a book and you’re like, I love this as a book, and I really hope they don’t make it into a movie. And I feel like this does such a great job of showing you some of the ridiculousness of like, good book things that if you put them into a movie, it’s kind of like, what? And it’s fun. It’s like fun. I think it’s meant to be, you know, it’s a romantic comedy, that’s what this movie is, and so it’s very enjoyable in that way.

Elsie: Okay, so on my tally of how many times I cried, it is my moving week and that is a part of it, but I cried three times. I feel like it really only should have been one, but it is kind of a sweet movie and I cried a lot at the end. So yeah, I think I’m just in the feels-good-to-cry moment right now, but it definitely had some crying opportunities throughout. 

Emma: I always, this might have some spoilers, heads up everyone, but this movie’s been out since we said it’s 2006, it’s on you. 

Elsie: Spoilers are to be expected.

Emma: Yeah, but the part where he’s playing the guitar, he’s like, I’m learning to play guitar, and he’s at his soon to be girlfriend’s house, and they’re having like kind of their first date. And she’s like, oh, play something, she has a guitar, and he’s like, I really only know one song. I don’t know. But then he does, he starts to play it, and I really love his performance of it because it felt like he was just learning. It didn’t feel like, oh, he really knows how to play and he really knows how to sing. It felt like a real person who was doing a good job playing this song. But it’s a little tiny bit awkward and it makes it kind of vulnerable and really special. And she is seeing him playing this song and it’s just really cute. And then she like goes up to him to give him a kiss and him playing and singing cuts out and they bring up in the soundtrack the real song with the full band and then they’re like making out, and it’s really cute. It’s just one of my favorite scenes in a rom-com. It’s so sweet and sexy and silly.

Elsie: It’s a very good movie makeout moment. 

Emma: Yeah, it’s so good, I love that. And then there’s this part at the beginning of the date where he brings her flowers, she’s a baker and he brings her all these different types of flowers. And whenever I was dating my husband, Trey, he did that because he knew how much I love this movie and I love baking. And so he brought me exactly the same look like little bags of flowers, and so we were we watched this together again the other night in preparation for me recording this. And I was just like, I remember when you bought me flowers. It’s just like this sweet little thing in a movie that I just love because I love baking. I just wanna be just like Maggie Gyllenhaal in this movie, she’s so cool. 

Elsie: Her bakery, it’s like, it’s iconic, and her character is really cute. Yeah, I love it. Okay, so this movie it’s not Knives Out, it does not have the iconic decor, but it is very cute and sweet, it has moments. Okay, so I’ll just start with my favorite, so Professor Hilbert’s office, and just like the way he always, always, always, always has a coffee in his hand. And I don’t know, he’s just like really lovable, but he has sort of this like modern office, the TAF windows, where it’s, you’re like sitting looking out at these beautiful views of some college campus. I don’t know what it is. I think that the IRS is in North Carolina. Am I wrong?

Emma: I think there are multiple IRS locations, and I believe this is set in New York. 

Elsie: Yeah, you’re right, there are a lot of New York City scenes in it, so I don’t know why I said that. Okay, so the rest of his office, it’s like floor to ceiling bookshelves and they’re stuffed like the cozy way where you believe that there’s like a little TV stuffed in there. You believe that it’s like his real books, like there’s a way to make a bookshelf look real and there’s a way to make it look fake. And this, it looks really, really, really real. I just love hearing him talk, asking all the questions to Harold to try to define who could be the author who’s narrating his story. It’s all just so sweet. So anyway, that was my favorite space. And then, I don’t know, I have this weird thing where I really liked the nostalgic feeling when he’s like in his lifeguard’s chair. I feel like that sort of indoor pool is a big part of my childhood. And then the other space that I really like Anna’s Bakery and Anna’s apartment. So her bakery is kind of just like a regular New York bakery, it’s beautiful. It’s cute.

Emma: They make it look very cramped. Like you can see the carts with all the trays of things are kind of around. So it’s like really cute in there and feels eclectic and messy cute, but it also looks a little industrial and very open as far as half the kitchen’s at least open. 

Elsie: And her apartment is very like a thrift shop lady boho, cozy. It’s very eclectic, I think that would definitely be the correct word to define it by, nothing’s matching, and she’s got a tiny, small tv. It’s just sweet, it’s cute. It’s what you think that an apartment for someone who’s in their twenties or thirties, a small single woman’s apartment should look like. It just looks cozy. Yeah, if you do watch it after, then definitely watch out for like the light fixture in her, like a buffer dining room table I thought was like really cool and weird. I don’t know, what the right search term is for it. But I saw one the other day on eBay and I remember thinking it’s not something that I would put in my house. It’s not the right era, but it is definitely stunning and in more of a seventies way, like very vibey.

Emma: Yeah. It’s kind of seventies boho feeling like this sort of hanging things. So maybe we should also mention Harold’s apartment in Karen’s office. Karen is the author who’s writing the book that Harold’s in. So Harold’s apartment I feel like they’re just trying to tell us something about him with it. That’s all you really need to know because it feels just like an IKEA catalog. It feels like a hotel room that nobody lives in that just got cleaned, it’s extremely plain, extremely bland. It doesn’t look like someone actually lives there, because they’re trying to drive home that like Harold doesn’t really live. Because in this movie that’s sort of what the movie’s about is he’s finding his life and living it. So they’re telling a story through the set and as such it’s not a very inspiring place. And about halfway through the movie, it gets semi-demolished because he tries something with Professor Hilbert where he does nothing for a day, seeing if that moves the plot forward or not. And like a crane comes through his window and they sort of were like, okay, so the plot moves without you. So it gets sort of destroyed, which is kind of funny, it’s a very funny moment. But I kind of wanted to mention, so then his friend from the IRS, goes to stay with him, and he mentions wanting to go to space camp. One of his lines in the movie is like, you’re never too old for space camp, dude. He’s into space, and if you like notice there are lots of details in his apartment. Even like the food they’re eating at dinner where it looks like Star Trek.

Elsie: It’s the most like pod sleeping like Star Trek looking apartment building. I don’t even know how they found a location like that. It’s very cute. 

Emma: Yeah, it’s really funny and just a fun little random detail. It’s not very much the movie takes place in there, but it’s just kind of interesting. And then Karen’s office, similar to Harold, but in a different way. It feels very sterile and not very lived in, it’s very stark like it feels like someone with depression lives there and works there because it’s like sheep.

Elsie: Yeah, there’s like a spilled coffee, and a lot of cigarettes everywhere. And that’s sort of the entire aesthetic.

Emma: And like hardly any furniture. So it’s like, clearly she doesn’t want anyone to come over and have a seat because there would be nowhere for them to sit. So it’s just a very empty, but it’s kind of pretty, it’s very like black and white and modern looking. But yeah, it’s meant to show us about her, which she’s very, like in her head, she’s an author and it’s also like she’s kind of going through this writer’s block thing. They mentioned too throughout the movie that she hasn’t been seen in 10 years, she’s kind of a recluse. So I think maybe she’s going through some things in her life we could say. I don’t know. I don’t really wanna say depression because I don’t really know if that’s what the character’s going through. But she’s clearly bordered herself away and feels very stuck in her work and is trying to figure that out.

Elsie: Yeah, I think they pretty clearly communicate that she’s like going through struggles, and like some kind of mental health struggles and it is sad to watch, but also inspiring in some parts. 

Emma: Yeah, and I think too, like Queen Latifah’s character, the assistant, I feel like her name’s Penny, but I can’t remember now. But she is kind of like they’re trying to help her and it honestly reminds me so much of when I’m going through like a downtime sometimes I’m like, no, I don’t wanna go on a walk. No, I don’t wanna call my friend. No, I don’t wanna go, you know, and that’s kind of what Karen’s like to Queen Latifah’s character. She’s very like, no, I’m not gonna do your flashcard thing to figure out, you know, Queen Latifah’s character is basically trying to help her, and she’s just, very much refusing all the help. I’m like, I know what that’s like. I’ve done that before.

Elsie: Yeah, I think that the coziness of this movie, it’s not as much in the interiors, but you will feel it throughout. So yeah, if you’re on the fence, definitely give it a watch. It’s on our list of favorite movies, so it has to be good. You know in my movie room, I have all those posters, I even have one of Stranger Than Fiction. 

Emma: I love it. But it’s definitely weird, but yeah if you’ve never seen it, I definitely would check it out. It’s wild. Enjoy the ride. 

Elsie: By the way, I would say I love getting requests for the Comfort Rewatch episodes. It’s so fun because they’re all so different and people are very passionate about their picks. So anytime you feel in the mood, send us a passionate request for your favorite movie, and we honestly probably will get to it because I think we’ll be doing this segment for several years, it’s like one of our favorite things to do. Okay. It’s trivia time. While filming Will Ferrell wore an earpiece that fed him Emma Thompson’s narrative lines in order to assist the other cast members in reacting more naturally to Ferrell’s, seemingly non-sequitur lines. So, yeah, he has a lot of parts throughout the movie where he’s like, Hey, like that, you know, to the, yeah, to the sky or whatever.

Emma: I was curious if they had someone off camera saying the lines and everyone’s hearing them. But yeah, this is actually really interesting that they went through the trouble of only Will can hear the lines and everyone around him is just reacting to him only. So that’s pretty interesting actually. Okay, the next one is the movie Harold sees in the theater after he’s instructed to live his life is Monty Python’s, the Meaning of Life, which is from 1983. They see him in a movie theater and he’s kind of just blowing off work or whatever and just living life, so that’s kind of cute that’s what the movie is that he’s watching. You can tell it’s an old movie, but yeah, I couldn’t tell what it was to be honest, so that’s funny.

Elsie: The title of the movie comes from a famous quote from Lord Byron’s, Don Juan, tis strange, but true for truth is always strange, stranger than fiction. If it could be told, how much would novels gain by the exchange, how differently the world would men behold. I always wondered if Stranger Things comes from, like Stranger Things have happened, Because they sound the same, but it’s like it’s from a completely different quote, or is it from kind of the same quote?

Emma: I think they’re from different quotes, but I don’t really know what Stranger Things comes from. I always thought it meant there are stranger things or you know, stranger things out there, whatever. 

Elsie: Yeah. Stranger Than Fiction is a great quote. I love it. 

Emma: Yeah, it’s a good name for this movie too. Good pick. The novel that Karen Eiffel is writing that Will Ferrell’s characters is called Death and Taxes, and this is a reference to the famous quote. In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except Death and Taxes, which was written by Benjamin Franklin in an old letter from 1789. 

Elsie: I will say, I hate that quote. It’s such a downy downer, I don’t know. I mean obviously, it’s true. It’s funny. I guess it’s just a depressing, funny joke, whatever. But yeah, I think Death and Taxes, it’s not a novel that I would pick up. So I’m glad it was fake, but I don’t know, I guess I loved in the movie how Professor Hilbert’s character thinks that she’s like such a genius though. That made me more interested and I kind of wish, like she says in one part, another character that she killed in another book and I wish that we knew more of them because that’s what she’s known for as like always killing a character like a beloved character at the end of every book. Anyway, I’m glad it’s called Stranger Than Fiction and Not Death and Taxes. 

Emma: I would’ve liked it either way. Okay. Another trivia is that Emma Thompson wore no makeup in this movie. Which I think is pretty interesting. She has great skin actually.

Elsie: I thought she looks great. That’s what I was thinking too. This is weird, but you know how in Love Actually, she’s supposed to be Hugh Grant’s sister, I thought in this movie she looked more like she could be his sister. I don’t know if it was like her haircut, I just was like, I could see it, but this is not the right place, the not the right time, and not the right place. 

Emma: Yeah, I guess I see that. Yeah. I also think it’s just kind of a bold choice. I assume it was her choice, or at least clearly she went along with it. Enjoyed if someone else was making the choice, she was clearly on board.

Elsie: It fits her character very well. 

Emma: It does, it very much fits her character. I also think it’s just bold to be like, I’m gonna be in a major movie and I’m going to wear no makeup, and it probably saved her a ton of time. She didn’t have to show up to hair and makeup so early.

Elsie: That’s true. Oh my gosh. A reoccurring theme is how Harold’s wristwatch changes his life. There are several scenes in which Harold sits on the bench outside Anna’s bakery. There’s a large round window on the wall that resembles a watch through which Harold looks at Anna. That’s cute. Yeah. I do love a round window.

Emma: I do too because it just stands out. I love it. Okay, speaking of watches, how would you rate this movie from zero to five wristwatches? 

Elsie: Definitely a five. I mean, there’s nothing bad about it. There’s everything good. I thought it held up. I guess I kind of was worried that I would’ve thought it was better back in the day and then watched it now and been like, uh, you know. But I still really enjoyed it. I mean, I cried three times.

Emma: I love this movie. Other than Knives Out, this is probably my other favorite movie because I just enjoy it and love it. But I will say, I do think the fact that they’re kind of gonna let Harold die because they think the ending of her book is so good, is a little bit unbelievable, but then they take it back. But it’s just a little bit unbelievable. To me, it’s like this is a rom-com. Not everything has to be like perfect for me. I feel like the movie works anyway, so I don’t really care. So anyway, I’m giving it five watches.

Elsie: I kind of believed that part.

Emma: Yeah, I thought the sad ending was superior to letting him live. I mean, her book was called Death and Taxes, and then she doesn’t kill him, but it’s like she’s gone on her own hero’s journey. Just like Harold has, because he’s now changed his life so much, and she’s also changed the way she writes and what she cares about. So you know, we have two protagonists in this movie in a way. But anyway, I like it. It’s fun. Five wrist watch. 

Elsie: Yep. You hear that will Ferrell five watches for you. Okay. It’s now time to go over a joke and a fact with Nova. Hey Nova, do you have a joke for us or a fact this week? 

Nova: A joke. 

Elsie: Okay. I’m ready. 

Nova: What does pumpkin eat? 

Elsie: What? 

Nova: Pumpkin pie. 

Elsie: Oh, that’s a good one. We hope you enjoyed this episode. Please continue to send us all of your requests. We have been keeping a log of them. We do about one a month, so that’s like 12 a year. So maybe we’ll get to yours this decade. 

Emma: So we’ll get there, keep ’em coming. 

Elsie: We will keep going and you can email us anytime at [email protected]. Next week we are talking about what it was like furnishing my new house from completely scratch.