(+) Ben Stiller is perfect as the mousy Walter Mitty, an Everyman hungry for love, adventure and a gulp of the unknown. The actor flutters easily from nerd to hero and back again as opportunities arise to escape the humdrum. Mitty's leap from a quiet existence in Life magazine's basement into a helicopter piloted by a drunken Greenlander leaves him (and us) surprised and breathless. Like it or not, he's finally launched — no, make that propelled — to fulfill deep yearnings for sex, peril, accomplishment and mystery. We should all be so lucky.
Upshot: Low-key epic for modern-day dreamers.
