The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Review (2013) – A Quietly Bold, Beautiful, and Bittersweet Adventure to Living Life to the Fullest!
As we navigate the chaos of the world and the ache of daily life, we potatoes have been craving a story that speaks softly but deeply, a reminder that life doesn’t always roar… sometimes, it whispers. So we’re dusting off our daydreams and diving into The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), a visually stunning and emotionally stirring tale about one man’s journey from silent longing to bold action!
This film is a blend of dreamy visuals, existential reflection, and an understated, surprisingly powerful message about truly living. Directed by and starring Ben Stiller, it’s a quieter film than it first appears, less about action, more about intention. Less about daring feats, more about the quiet courage it takes to break free from the grey blur of “just getting by.”
Before we dive in, a gentle heads-up: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty explores themes like loneliness, burnout, grief, invisibility, escapism, and the deep desire to matter. It doesn’t get too heavy, but the emotional undercurrents run strong. Please approach with care.
We will try to avoid spoilers, but please be aware that there will likely be some in this review, so please read cautiously.
Let’s zone out… and drop in!
We open to Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) sitting in front of his laptop at his kitchen table. He is meticulously calculating and writing down the expenses for his mother’s retirement set up, as well as some of his own expenses, like his eHarmony account.
It is quiet, and all you can hear is the ticking of a clock in his house, and the tapping of the keyboard. He quietly looks over his eHarmony profile, and looks up the profile of a woman named Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig). He tries to send her a wink, but there is something wrong with his account and it will not allow him to do so.
Frustrated, he closes his laptop and heads out of his house to the train station to get to work. While he is on a bench, waiting for his train, he calls eHarmony customer service to figure out why he can’t send a wink. The customer service rep sees that he has not completed his account, the implication is that if they complete his profile that this may fix the problem.
The bigger issue at hand is, that the profile is incomplete because Walter has led a very sheltered and unadventurous life thus far. “Okay, well, I haven’t really been anywhere… noteworthy or mentionable.” He was unsure how to answer certain questions, and left them blank. Todd (Patton Oswalt), the customer service rep, tries to prompt him to answer some questions to finish the profile, but Walter gets up from the bench and randomly leaps into a building!
From here, we see an epic heroic saving of a cute three-legged dog from a building about to blow up! Cheryl appears for her dog, thanking him profusely. He hands her the dog. “I just live by the ABC’s. Adventurous, brave, creative.” (He got this from her profile).
He snaps back to reality...and he is still at the train station, but now he is watching as his train just passed by.
This is one of many of Walter’s daydreams. His daily existence is small and predictable, but these elaborate daydreams where he’s the daring hero, the charming romantic, the life of the party add spice to his life. These inner fantasies are grand, bold, and cinematic and then they vanish in a blink, leaving him quietly blinking in a grayscale world.
We potatoes found this painfully relatable. How many of us live entire lives inside our heads? Daydreaming not out of delusion, but out of necessity or a desire for connection, meaning, purpose, and even escape. Walter doesn’t daydream because he’s selfish. He dreams because he’s stifled. But we digress!
Walter manages to catch the next train and heads to work, where he briefly bumps into his sister Odessa (Kathryn Hahn) in the lobby. We learn it’s Walter’s birthday, and Odessa is rushing off to an audition for Grease. Their exchange is hurried, but there's a sweetness to their dynamic, one of many understated connections in Walter’s life. Walter is flustered, their mom’s piano moving needs to be sorted out, but he needs to get to work!
He works in the photo archive department at Life magazine, carefully curating the work of others while suppressing his own hunger for adventure. Walter learns from coworkers that Life magazine has been purchased and is transitioning to an online-only platform.
The managing director of the transition, Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott), and his small team have been sent to essentially gut the business. Ted is the worst kind of corporate shark. Rude, dismissive, and careless with people’s livelihoods. His arrival brings a coldness that clashes harshly with Walter’s quiet, meticulous world.
We see Walter going about his day…until he sees Cheryl! Turns out she works at Life as well! We get another fun daydream, but Walter is interrupted by the rude Ted Hendricks. He throws a paper clip at him, “Ground control to Major Tom…can you hear me Major Tom?”
Walter says nothing, and simply continues his work day as best as he can. He goes to the photo archive department and starts going through the recent film they received from legendary photojournalist Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn). He reads a short letter that Sean sent to Walter along with the photos. “Number 25 is my best ever. The Quintessence of life, I think. I trust you’ll get it to where it needs to go, you always do.”
Sean also sent him a small gift, a brown leather wallet with Life’s motto on it. “To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind the walls, to draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life.” We potatoes personally felt that this was such a sweet and kind gift! We love this for Walter! He has a friend who greatly appreciates him and his work whether Walter knew it or not!
But…as he goes through more of the film he realizes that the 25th negative…is not there! It is missing! While he is still reeling from negative 25 not being there…there is a loud knock on the department door. A coworker swings in, “We need negative 25…Sean O’Connell sent a telegram.”
There is a floor meeting, and Walter is supposed to bring number 25 to it…Uh oh. Walter nervously arrives at the floor meeting where Ted’s team is informing everyone that there will be one final print issue before they completely switch to solely online! Ted takes over, and reads out Sean’s telegram, “I expect full consideration of negative 25 for cover. My most grand, the quintessence of Life.” Excited Ted demands to see negative 25! But as we already know the negative is missing! Walter delays it as best as he can, “Uh, it’s uh, being processed.” Ted lets it go for now…but Walter will not have forever and he knows it! He has to find the negative before they print the final issue.
And this is where Walter’s story truly begins!
What starts as a search for a missing photo becomes a quest for something much bigger! His own life and self-actualization. Walter steps out of his comfort zone and begins an actual, real-world adventure spanning Greenland, Iceland, Afghanistan, and beyond. Along the way, he encounters danger, beauty, humor, disappointment, and moments of quiet awe that hit like a wave to the chest.
Visually, the film is breathtaking! Sweeping mountain vistas. Crashing waves. Open skies. It’s one of those movies that feels like flipping through a National Geographic if National Geographic came with a subtle existential crisis and a tender indie soundtrack. Every frame is soft yet striking. Quiet but resonant.
But what makes The Secret Life of Walter Mitty truly resonate isn’t just its stunning visuals—it’s the warmth and gentleness threaded throughout the story. Walter’s relationships, though understated, are where the film’s heart truly beats!
Take Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), Walter’s kind and gentle coworker and the woman he quietly admires from afar. She’s not a manic pixie dream girl, and we potatoes love this! She’s grounded, thoughtful, kind, and patient. She never pushes Walter to be someone he’s not; she just sees him, and that alone makes a difference. Their relationship isn’t explosive or dramatic. It’s delicate, and we deeply appreciated that. Real connection doesn’t always come with fireworks. Sometimes, it arrives with eye contact, a kind word, or a shared awkward silence.
We also have to do a quick shout-out to Todd! The eHarmony customer service rep (Patton Oswalt)! His persistent, cheerful phone calls checking on Walter’s profile are both hilarious and oddly heartwarming. What starts as a routine interaction becomes this strange, endearing long-distance friendship!
And then there’s Walter’s family. His sister Odessa (Kathryn Hahn) and his mom Edna (Shirley MacLaine) are such a quietly beautiful part of this story. We potatoes love how they all fit together with this subtle, unspoken acceptance and genuine affection. There’s a gentle kindness between them, a softness that feels like home. Even when they don’t completely understand or even frustrate each other! Odessa’s quirky ambitions to be an actress or Walter’s more reserved nature… doesn’t matter. They support each other in this quiet, unconditional way that feels so real and comforting. They’re not flashy or loud; they’re just… there for each other in their own individual ways. And in a world that often feels harsh, and demanding, that kind of steady, quiet but unwavering unconditional love is something special and we potatoes love to see it.
But as much as we potatoes enjoy this film… we do have some mashed-up thoughts!
First, Walter's journey is beautiful, but it can feel a little idealistic. Not all of us can hop on a plane to Iceland when our lives feel empty. The idea that adventure is the cure for stagnation is romantic, but not always realistic. Most of us are just trying to pay rent and remember what we walked into the kitchen for. And that's okay.
Second, the film suggests that living a meaningful life is about doing something grand. We understand the appeal, but we potatoes believe that small acts of courage like, setting boundaries, applying for a job you’re unsure about, calling a friend when you’re feeling numb, going to therapy…are all just as brave. If you can’t scale a mountain but managed to get out of bed today? You’ve still climbed something. And that matters.
Third, while Walter’s outer journey is beautifully cinematic, we wish the film spent a little more time exploring his inner transformation. We’re curious about those quiet, personal shifts, the moment he starts believing he's worth knowing, worth loving, worth seeing. We potatoes wanted just a bit more depth there. But maybe… that part of the story is meant to be felt, not told.
Finally, one aspect of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty that tugs especially hard at our potato hearts is how daydreaming is often treated as a flaw or something to be “fixed.” While it’s true that Walter’s zoning out causes him trouble at work and awkwardness in social situations, we can’t help but feel protective of his vivid imagination. Daydreaming is how Walter copes with a world that often feels overwhelming, stifling, and indifferent. It’s his escape, his outlet, his way of carving out beauty and adventure where none seems to exist. We relate to that deeply.
As children, we potatoes were enormous daydreamers! Building entire worlds in our heads to cope with our upbringing and the dull ache of reality. And while our daydreaming has faded with age, the urge to dissociate—to retreat inward when the world feels too harsh or heavy—is still all too familiar. Walter’s daydreams may be disruptive, but they’re also a lifeline. And we think that deserves understanding, not dismissal.
Still, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty lands on a message that’s both simple and profound: Life isn’t meant to be observed from the sidelines. It’s meant to be lived! However you can. Whether that’s traveling across the globe or finally saying what you feel. Whether it’s chasing a dream or just daring to have one. Whether it’s a loud yes or a small whisper that says, I’m still here. I’m trying.
We love this film! So! If you’re someone who loves introspective films with soft visuals, gentle humor, and a quiet emotional punch… this film is for you! It’s not perfect, but it’s tender and sincere, and sometimes, that’s all we need.
Cheers to Walter! To those of us who live inside our heads, longing for more. To the ones who feel invisible, but are full of color. To the dreamers, the drifters, the quiet adventurers. Whether your journey is big and bold or quiet and personal, it matters. And most importantly… cheers to you!
We see you. Keep going.
We give this movie 4 out of 5 bottles of Icelandic Brennivín!
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Drinking Game
Take a sip anytime:
1. Walter has a daydream
2. Walter does something brave, daring, or adventurous
3. Walter is awkward
4. Walter obsesses over or mentions Cheryl
5. Walter goes somewhere new
6. Walter runs
7. Anyone tries to snap Walter out of a daydream
8. Anyone says or mentions Negative #25
9. Anyone says “Life”
10. Anyone says Sean O'Connell's name
11. Stretch Armstrong on screen
12. You notice hidden text on screen
13. Walters Mom is sweet
14. Odessa does something quirky
15. Ted Hendricks is a douche
16. Todd Maher (Patton Oswalt) from eHarmony calls and talks to Walter
What did you think? Did you like the movie? Did you hate it? What movies should we watch? Any and all thoughts are welcome! Let us know here in the comments and always remember to be safe and drink responsibly!
What do you think? Do you like this drinking game? Are there rules missing? Is the game too intense? Are there movies that you think we should make a drinking game for? Let us know here in the comments and always remember to be safe and drink responsibly! (Drinks can be water, soda, anything nonalcoholic, etc. Please be safe, have fun and take care of you!)