'Hector and the Search For Happiness' - Simon Pegg

[Walts Ghost]

‘Hector and the Search for Happiness’ Trailer: Simon Pegg Gets His Own ‘Walter Mitty’

If Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty had been a little less daydream-y and a little more British, it probably would have looked a lot like Peter Chelsom‘s Hector and the Search for Happiness. Both films center on middle-aged men who, unsatisfied by their dreary professional lives, decide to embark on whimsical adventures around the globe.

To be sure, there are a few differences. The man in this movie is played by Simon Pegg, not Ben Stiller, and he’s a psychiatrist, not a photo editor. But there are more similarities, from the sweeping shots of snowy mountains all the way down to the plaid scarves that the characters don for their travels. Watch it after the jump.

Hector And The Search For Happiness - First Trailer - YouTube

In fairness, it could turn out that Hector and the Search for Happiness only resembles Walter Mitty on a superficial level. And even if they are pretty similar, it’s not like Walter Mitty was some unassailable masterpiece; maybe Hector is a better play on the same themes. Plus, this is a pretty solid cast. Rosamund Pike, Stellan Skarsgård, Toni Collette, and Christopher Plummer star in addition to Pegg.

But at this moment, less than two months after Walter Mitty hit theaters, it’s tough to get excited by what looks quite a lot like a British remake. (In fact, this one may have been shot first!) Good thing the movie itself doesn’t open for a while — Hector and the Search for Happiness opens this fall in the U.K., and hasn’t yet set a date in the U.S.

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[KilloWertz]

Something different for Simon Pegg, but that's not a bad thing since I think it looks pretty good. Good supporting cast too.

[Foggy]

I don't think it looks too good. Seems like a Sundance reject.

[Michael1989]

I think it looks pretty good..I didn't think Walter Mitty was all that great

[Foggy]

Really damning...but actually kinda entertaining review, considering how lacking in political correctness it is for midday BBC radio.

Robbie Collin reviews Hector and the Search for Happiness - YouTube

[vanlutz]

I saw this tonight. As I can see from the last post 2014, it was not a success.

Pegg goes out looking for the meaning of happiness. If you were going out to do this would you go to communist country like CHINA and then AFRICA? These countries are not known for human rights and happiness in general.

Maybe the screenwriter was trying to tell people from democracies "look what YOU have. You have nothing to be unhappy about." But, it didn't come across on screen. It just came off idiotic and unrealistic. The ending was known at the beginning.

[vanlutz]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Really damning...but actually kinda entertaining review, considering how lacking in political correctness it is for midday BBC radio.

Robbie Collin reviews Hector and the Search for Happiness - YouTube

I just watched this film, and it blew. But, this guy got plot points completely wrong. The woman didn't correct them. How are they reviewers?