In need of some inspiration to travel, but don’t have the money to actually go anywhere? The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a 2013 American comedy adventure film starring Ben Stiller, may just be the antidote.
The movie tells the story of a film developer, Walter Mitty, who works in the basement of Life magazine’s New York City tower. While Walter’s coworker – a photojournalist named Sean O’Connell – climbs mountains and braves harsh weather to take the perfect photographs for Life’s covers, timid Mitty remains downstairs, invisible, especially to Cheryl, a girl with whom he is infatuated. Humorously, after each awkward scene between Walter and Cheryl, Walter reimagines the embarrassing moment and dreams that he instead did a dashing feat—such as saving a cat from a burning building—that woos Cheryl. These comedic sprinklings break the sad tone of an otherwise boring, solitary life of developing film.
However, when Life magazine announces its production of one final print cover, Walter discovers that Sean’s quintessential cover photo is missing. Unable to contact the elusive Sean, Walter finds himself forced into a reality that remarkably parallels his old daydreams. The audience feels Walter’s panic as he frantically longboards away from ever-approaching lava, and takes in beautiful images of Icelandic mountains; we laugh as a increasingly-rugged Walter is detained at the Yemen border, and feel thrills of excitement as he leaps from ships and hails sketchy airplane rides with drunk pilots.

After several amusing attempts on Walter’s part that fail, and another several cringey moments where Walter imagines Cheryl romantically encouraging him through these adventures, he finally finds Sean, returns to Life and saves the final magazine cover. Avoiding any clichéd pitfalls, this film rejects the “hero gets the girl” plotline, instead ending the film with a jobless Walter, who must decide whether to continue living in the shadows and pine after a girl who never notices him, or to at last live up to Life’s motto: “To see the world, things dangerous to come…To feel…that is the purpose of life.”
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty reminds its audience that it’s never too late to travel and experience life, and gives college students a realistic breath of hope that travel doesn’t become unattainable after study abroad experiences end and youthful energy fades. While, we often cannot travel as much as we dream, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty takes its viewers along for a ride with Ben Stiller’s character, reminding us that even people stuck in monotonous 9 to 5 grinds, stuck working at the bottom of huge corporations, in basements, can find life’s adventurous spark.