Line #2 YMMV/TheSecretLifeOfWalterMitty


1	* AdaptationDisplacement: [[InNameOnly Derived at considerable length]] from a 1939 short story by Creator/JamesThurber, which had already been loosely adapted into a film starring Creator/DannyKaye in 1947.
2	* AluminumChristmasTrees: There were in fact ''Air Greenland'' flights between Baltimore and Greenland for about a year in 2007 and 2008, which is close to the time the movie presumably takes place. So it's not entirely implausible that Walter could have taken that flight.
3	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
4	** The first trailer uses Music/OfMonstersAndMen "Dirty Paws" to great effect, and the film uses sections of it during the Iceland bike ride (fitting, considering the band members are Icelandic).
5	** All of the film's songs by José González fit, but especially [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EV9IdeU3D0 "Step Out"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZnu7fVRPIc "Stay Alive"]].
6	** The use of Music/ArcadeFire's "Wake Up" when Walter finally decides to fly to Greenland to find Sean.
7	** Hey, the [[Music/DavidBowie Space Oddity]] scene counts too!
8	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTZ1Spe5d_A "Far Away"]], used during the skateboarding scene.
9	* CriticalDissonance: Seems to be received far more positively by viewers than critics, as [[http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty seen on Metacritic]].
10	* HardToAdaptWork: The original short story takes place almost entirely in the title character's head, using it as a contrast against his miserably boring real life. It's also very much a ''short'' story too, with only a handful of scenarios playing out under a very mundane FramingDevice of running errands. This might be good for a half-hour anthology show episode, but making it into a feature-length film is difficult without [[AdaptationExpansion massive expansion]]. Both the Danny Kaye and Ben Stiller movies thusly have next to nothing to do with the original story besides the daydreaming aspect.
11	* MemeticMutation: The name Walter Mitty has entered the public lexicon to describe fantasists from all walks of life. In military parlance in particular, it's used as an insult to describe {{Phony Veteran}}s.
12	* OneSceneWonder:
13	** Creator/SeanPenn only appears onscreen as [[TheDanza Sean]] O'Connell for one scene, but it's by far one of the most [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments powerful]] and important moments in the entire film.
14	** Similarly, after being nothing more than TheVoice for two thirds of the movie, [[spoiler: Todd Mahar finally appears in person to help bail Walter out of airport security]] in a scene that is both funny and reflective of Walter's CharacterDevelopment.
15	* VindicatedByHistory: The movie was met with mediocre reviews from critics when it first came out but has since become a modern CultClassic, with many praising its inspirational feel-good elements, [[SceneryPorn gorgeous scenery]], and Ben Stiller's direction and [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct lead performance]]. The amusing [[FantasySequence Fantasy Sequences]] also certainly helped.
16	* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The film is about a man who daydreams to help him get out of his everyday problems, so it must be for kids, right? Wrong! It contains some swearing, drinking, sex jokes, [[spoiler:a building catching on fire, and the main character going to Afghanistan and getting arrested for it]]. The film wound up with a PG rating, and little kids still saw it despite the scenes mentioned.

Context YMMV / TheSecretLifeOfWalterMitty