T: As a high school English teacher, I always get excited (and slightly terrified) when I hear about an upcoming literary adaption, but I could tell as early as the trailer that this film would not strive to mirror its original source material. With that said, this film can and should appreciated beyond having an affinity for Thurber’s famous tale.

Ben Stiller stars as Walter Mitty who seems to capture the essence of every love-stricken, socially awkward introvert. His heart is set on Cheryl, played by the ever-so fabulous Kristen Wiig, but their not-relationship is constantly interrupted by Mitty’s tendency to live life purely through his imagination – that and the dickhead played by my uber-celebrity crush, Adam Scott (swoon). Through a series of unexpected events, Walter Mitty finds himself becoming the person he always wanted to be – a brave adventurer fully embracing life at every turn. #thefeels

Although highly romanticized (I can’t get cell phone service driving between bluffs but Mitty can find it on a freaking mountain?!) and somewhat predictable, this film – with its mesmerizing cinematography (seriously, I want to live in Iceland now!), charming score, and warm chemistry amongst the characters (special shout-out to Shirly MacLaine for being the best mom ever) – this movie is a sweet reminder that life is too short not to be an epic adventure and has all the tropes to be a yearly re-watch staple.

RV: The original short story Walter Mitty was very short, and it was also clever as hell but light on depth. The movie adaptation fits that billing to a ‘t’. Terrific creativity and charm aside, you’ve heard this story more than a few times, but I don’t think it was meant to be heavy. This is the movie you play in the background when you are cleaning the house. This is the movie you watch on the couch when flu season hits you hard. This is the movie that makes you aimlessly search for vacations on Tripadvisor. This is not the movie that keeps you up at night thinking about your position in the world or your future. This is the hipster’s equivalent to the standard romcom. This is not Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

3.5 Twizzlers – Whimsical fun, but cheesy and predictable

3 Red Vines – Follow your dreams…to Iceland.

Hey! One of the supporting ‘characters’ of this film is Walter Mitty’s mom’s famous clementine cake. Take a shot at making this delectable dessert while checking out this film: Clementine Cake Recipe