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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Play trailer Poster for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty PG 2013 1h 54m Comedy Adventure Fantasy Action Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
52% Tomatometer 194 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller), an employee at Life magazine, spends day after monotonous day developing photos for the publication. To escape the tedium, Walter inhabits a world of exciting daydreams in which he is the undeniable hero. Walter fancies a fellow employee named Cheryl (Kristen Wiig) and would love to date her, but he feels unworthy. However, he gets a chance to have a real adventure when Life's new owners send him on a mission to obtain the perfect photo for the final print issue.

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

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Critics Consensus

It doesn't lack for ambition, but The Secret Life of Walter Mitty fails to back up its grand designs with enough substance to anchor the spectacle.

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Critics Reviews

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Jason Bailey Flavorwire 06/19/2016
With such high aims, it's too bad that 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' falls somewhat short of greatness. But it's not often that you come across a "big" movie as earnest and patently un-cynical as this one. Go to Full Review
Dana Stevens Slate 01/01/2014
Stiller's attempt to braid together introspection and humor kept me engaged and curious, even when I wasn't quite sure what he was setting out to do. Go to Full Review
Donald Clarke Irish Times 01/01/2014
3/5
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty probably succeeds on its own terms. Given the elusive nature of those terms, it is, however, hard to tell for certain. Go to Full Review
Wael Khairy The Cairo Scene 09/23/2022
I admire the film’s originality, and the thought-provoking twist ending, but daydream of a deeper director’s cut. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 08/19/2022
1.5/4
Less about Walter Mitty’s secret life than his actual, perfectly romantic, impossibly realized adventures, the film loses itself in a fantasy world all its own and never fully embraces the everyday balance of reality and imagination. Go to Full Review
Kip Mooney College Movie Review 09/17/2021
B
A frequently inspiring little film, one thrillingly devoid of any cynicism. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Swati B @Swatii 2d it was far more inspiring than I expected. What starts as a simple story turns into a beautiful adventure about stepping outside your comfort zone and truly living life. Ben Stiller delivers a heartfelt performance, and the stunning visuals make every moment feel meaningful. Uplifting, thoughtful, and the kind of movie that stays with you after it ends. See more Sienna R @RT19463809 4d Worst movie i have ever watched, would rate it a zero if i could. Bored me to sleep and i wish i could go back in time and stop myself from pressing play. If i could rate every movie i ever watched it wouldnt even be on the list becauseof how crappy it was. I knew it was going to be as soon as my eyes saw the starting of it. I hope anyone who wants to watch reads this and take it off their movie watch list. This movie should be deleted of all apps and not shown to anyone ever agai. I still think about this movie even though its been a year, it haunts every time i open up an app to watch a movie. Just walter mittys eyes staring at me. I can feel his precesne werever i go. This movie genuiluy wrecked my life and i dont knoow how people call this their comfort movie. GOOD BYE. See more Cenny 4 @KenTan May 24 Definitely a 10/10 movie. This film follows Walter Mitty, who initially ‘suffers’ from maladaptive daydreaming mostly about an enlightened version of himself doing impressive stunts like a superhero or a ‘perfect’ human being. Then he goes on multiple spontaneous road trips to find Sean, under the belief that the 25th shot is still with Sean. Although it was revealed that the photo was with Walter the whole time, it can’t be ignored that Walter has grown significantly from this trip, and became who he had wished to be— cool, admirable, and just more confident overall. He even bagged his crush. I really enjoyed watching his personal growth and I find it extremely rewarding to see how he has changed. The adventures he experienced was engaging too. I also liked the twists and turns he had to navigate, and how he overcame them respectively, growing loads too. The ending was also pretty well written, except for the fact that he didn’t go on more journeys haha (personal preference). 10/10! See more Mckenzie M @CriticKenz Apr 25 8/10 really good movie. definitely should watch See more Widdly S @RT76052853 Apr 20 One of the best movies I've ever seen. I don't understand the negative reviews. It's one of those movies that you think about after watching for years. See more Leslie K. @Wilbur380 Apr 18 Love this movie. Artistic, beautiful cinematography, lovely music, imaginative, warm and funny! So many layers to this movie. It a repeatable watch. I need to visit Iceland and Greenland!! Sometimes I just need me some Walter Mitty See more Read all reviews
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

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Movie Info

Synopsis Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller), an employee at Life magazine, spends day after monotonous day developing photos for the publication. To escape the tedium, Walter inhabits a world of exciting daydreams in which he is the undeniable hero. Walter fancies a fellow employee named Cheryl (Kristen Wiig) and would love to date her, but he feels unworthy. However, he gets a chance to have a real adventure when Life's new owners send him on a mission to obtain the perfect photo for the final print issue.
Director
Ben Stiller
Producer
Samuel Goldwyn Jr., John Goldwyn, Stuart Cornfeld, Ben Stiller
Screenwriter
Steve Conrad
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Red Hour Productions, Samuel Goldwyn Films
Rating
PG (Language|Action/Violence|Some Crude Comments)
Genre
Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy, Action, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 25, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 30, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$58.2M
Runtime
1h 54m
Sound Mix
Datasat, Dolby