I'd never seen the original film with Danny Kaye, nor had I even seen a trailer to this 'remake' of the original. I read many reviews on Netflix and Amazon and rented it. I had no idea where this movie was headed, once the film began, but I found it a most entertaining and delightful trip! At film's end, I had a vague memory of 'The Truman Show' of many years past, not in subject matter, but in the handling of the story and it's resonance with it's viewing audience. I know it was completely overlooked in awards and maybe even in the reviews by film critics (and audiences?) I just had more enjoyment with this film than with several of the films that were nominated for many top Oscars in the same year. There was one bizarre 'review' on Netflix (it's still there). The reviewer gave it the worst rating available and said he took the dvd out as soon as he saw (Actor) Sean Penn. That he didn't know Mr. Penn was in it as his name wasn't listed. Oh well. But I have to hand it to Actor / Director Ben Stiller for this film. It surprised me with it's 'humanity and kindness'.
I really hated the trailers so I didn't go anywhere near this one. Not only did they show the trailer probably every time I went to the theater in the last third of 2013 but it looked really stupid with what they highlighted. Can anyone say that it is significantly different than the trailer?
