Friday night was date night, thanks to my sister who babysat the munchkins. Thanks again, JB.

For once we easily agreed on the movie we both wanted to see - Stranger Than Fiction.

I really liked this movie. It was beautifully done on every level. You could call it Adaptation Lite. You could parallel it with The Truman Show. But it stood on its own feet very well.

All the performances were good. I could nitpick Will Ferrell and say he played it just too straight, but I won't. I loved Dustin Hoffman, really perfect. I loved Maggie Gyllenhaal, she is sweet but has an edge; something reminiscent of early Winona Ryder but better.

I could nitpick the derivative daggy song sung in an endearing fashion to win the girl's heart (see Ten Things I Hate About You, The Wedding Singer et al), but I won't.

It all worked for me and I had a tear in my eye as the credits rolled. Damn it when the cynical exterior cracks slightly and the moral of the story actually touches my craggy old heart.