Based on the short story by James Thurber, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty depicts an ordinary man with an extraordinary imagination. While the titular character’s name and wild fantasies are alike in the movie and the story, the rest of the plot seemed to differ immensely. Although it hardly holds true to the story, the movie is  good in its own right.

The movie centers around Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller), a man working for a magazine to develop negatives. On the announcement of their last issue, a famous photographer gives Mitty a roll missing what he says could be the cover photo. Along with chasing after co-worker Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig), Mitty chases after the photographer for the missing negative in hopes of saving his job.

Along the way, Mitty is stricken with vivid fantasies that, eventually, enable him to go on adventures to different countries and do spectacular things, along with getting a date with Melhoff. The end of the movie leaves the watcher feeling uplifted, which is drastically different than the short story. In Thurber’s story, Walter Mitty is a man who uses his daydreams to escape from the monotony of his life and nagging of his wife, but is never able to break his boredom.

In his daydreams, Mitty experiences noteable differences. Movie Mitty has fantasties more relatable to his life. While both are triggered by something in his environment, Thurber’s Mitty goes somewhere completely different, such as life as a surgeon, commander, or sniper, while movie Mitty includes environments or people that are true to his life.

Despite the variance, the movie is still able to make a good name for itself in cinematography and acting. Stiller is able to break away from his traditional comedic side and display great variance in character, from the feeble Mitty to the courageous Mitty. The landscapes and montages of Mitty’s travels to different countries introduce beautiful scenery that the short story could barely dream of. Accompanying this is a great score that seems to pick up influence from location and mood of Mitty wonderfully.

Even though the movie takes what seems like the opposite feeling of the short story, this nicely made film is definitely a mood-lifting hit.