Stranger than Fiction

My son and I saw Stranger than Fiction this past Saturday. Will Ferrell was great in his role as Emma Thompson's main character, but the character I loved the most was Dustin Hoffman's English professor. Constantly drinking coffee (even while at the urinal), Hoffman got away with the use of stereotypical tics by somehow transcending them through a blend of subtle satire and feverish aplomb. One of his best lines, given as an excuse for why he can't help Ferrell, goes something like, "I'd really like to, but I'm teaching five classes this semester and working as a lifeguard at the pool on weekends." Another comes when Ferrell explains how everything went awry when he heard (from Thompson's narrator) a voice in his head saying, "Little did he know..." and an incredulous Hoffman responds by stopping him and saying "I've written papers on `Little did he know'."