First Trailer for Ben Stiller's 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'

It was a surprise to many when Ben Stiller took on an adaptation of James Thurber's amazing short story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. It had been adapted to the screen notably before in 1947, and seemed like an odd follow-up to Stiller's last directorial effort, the rambunctious spoof Tropic Thunder. But when he started to surround the film with a cast that included Sean Penn, Shirley MacLaine, and Kristen Wiig, it seemed as if he may be aiming for something more substantial, and less Night at the Museum. Now that the first trailer has arrived, we can see that to definitely be the case.

 Emphasizing simple mood and emotion over silly antics or loud explosions, the trailer is a refreshing change of pace for Stiller, and lends credence to the rumors of a potential Oscar campaign. Stiller stars as Walter Mitty, a magazine proofreader who escapes his boring and powerless life by indulging in a fantasy world in which he is the hero. When his job and that of the woman he secretly yearns for are threatened, he finally takes action in the real world by embarking on an extraordinary global adventure. It looks like a powerful character study and the sort of small-scale human story we don't see very often, and could prove to be major player when it opens on Christmas Day.