I didn’t like the idea of Ben Stiller‘s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (20th Century Fox/Samuel Goldwyn, 12.25) because (a) I never much cared for the 1947 Danny Kaye version but more to the point (b) I’ve always half-despised the idea contained in the original James Thurber story, i.e., a mouse living in a fantasy cave. Whether or not I attain success or failure in life I will at least tough it out in the real world — only losers who take long showers retreat into constant daydreams. So eff this movie, I’ve been telling myself all along. I’m not a fucking mouse and I don’t want to know from Mitty-hood.

But this just-out trailer clearly indicates a cut-above thing. It’s edited in such a seamless way that the fantasy activity seems almost imperceptibly integrated into Mitty’s (i.e., Stiller’s) real-deal life that…it’s hard to put into words but it has something. Looks good, feels right…who knows?

This could have been a Jim Carrey or a Mike Myers film or God forbid a Will Ferrell movie, and we all have an idea what those versions would have been like. Owen Wilson almost starred in a version but he bailed over creative differences. If Steven Spielberg had directed a Mitty flick I would had my hate swords out from the word “go.” But Stiller’s version…yeah, maybe.

From Wiki page: “Eight or nine years ago Richard LaGravanese worked on a Mitty screenplay. In April 2010, Sacha Baron Cohen was offered and attached to star as Mitty and The Pursuit of Happyness writer Steven Conrad was hired to pen the screenplay. Gore Verbinski (good God!) was announced as director of this version in June 2010.

“In April 2011, it was announced that Ben Stiller had landed the lead role, and three months later it was announced he would also direct.”