Learn English with English, baby!

Join for FREE!

Social_nav_masthead_logged_in
 
Stranger than Fiction

Stranger than Fiction

Date: May 16 2007

Themes: Pop Culture

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Has anything ever happened to you that was so strange that if it had been a scene in a movie, people would have said it was too far-fetched? Sometimes truth is stranger than anything people could make up. Stranger than Fiction is a film based on this idea. Mason and Marni both like the movie, but they each understood it differently.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

Log in to Listen

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Marni

Mason

Mason

Marni:  So, I saw Stranger than Fiction the other day.

Mason:  Yeah, uh-hm.

Marni:  Have you seen it?

Mason:  I did. I came to it really late.

Marni:  So you missed some of it?

Mason:  No, no, no. I just mean like, it had been in the theaters for a long time.

Marni:  Oh I see, I see, I see.

Mason:  What did you think?

Marni:  I really liked it. I actually, I thought it was great to see Will Ferrell in a different something…

Mason:  ...something a little more mellow?

Marni:  Exactly.

Mason:  Not being a 40-year-old frat boy.

Marni:  Exactly.

Mason:  I completely agree. But I…Emma Thompson was great too.

Marni:  She was, and Dustin Hoffman.

Mason:  Queen Latifah I could have done without.

Marni:  Really? I like her.

Mason:  I don’t…I mean, she wasn’t bad. I just don’t really need Queen Latifah.

Marni:  I like her. I like her acting. I think it’s great to see her…very personal.

Mason:  I just, I really like the premise of the whole movie, I mean, aside from the cast, just the idea of it and the way it was executed.

Marni:  It was a very interesting idea, I agree. Just the idea of someone narrating your life.

Mason:  It almost felt like a Charlie Kaufman sort of thing.

Marni:  It did, I can see that.

Mason:  You know, I think I had some friends who actually thought it was a Kaufman film. But, yeah, it was surprisingly uplifting, kinda melancholy.

Marni:  Kinda melancholy?

Mason:  I think a little bit, yeah. There’s that kind of act of the film where Will Ferrell’s obviously trying to not die and you don’t know how that’s gonna pan out.

Marni:  Well it seemed to have this, you know…It’s about sort of changing your fate. If you’re meant to die and sort of how you…Did you not think that?

Mason:  I guess I didn’t think about it.

 

Quizzes

Go Super to take Quiz Go Super!

 

Lesson MP3

Go Super to download full lesson MP3 Go Super!

The iTEP® test

  • Schedule an iTEP® test and take the official English Practice Test.

    Take Now >

Discussion

Marni and Mason liked to watch Will Ferrell play a more serious roll than he usually does. They liked watching him in Stranger than Fiction better than Old School, in which he acted like a 40-year-old frat boy. Mason and Marni also liked Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman. Marni liked Queen Latifah’s performance, but Mason is not a fan of hers.

Marni and Mason think the idea of a movie about someone narrating a life is interesting. They compare Stranger than Fiction to films by Charlie Kaufman, a writer known for strange movies.

Mason thought the movie was sad, while Marni didn’t. She thought it was about changing your fate. Mason didn’t think about that.

What’s the most unbelievable, stranger-than-fiction thing that has happened to you? Did you tell people about it? Did they believe you?

 

Comments

Log in to Comment

reginamoreira

Brazil

Very nice.. ;D

10:08 PM Nov 26 2007 |

Michellita

Michellita

Brazil

Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson… what else can I say about it? I liked the movie very much!

10:29 PM Oct 11 2007 |

greta.1120

greta.1120

China

it always is stopped

02:00 PM Jun 08 2007 |

greta.1120

greta.1120

China

it always be stopped

02:00 PM Jun 08 2007 |

greta.1120

greta.1120

China

it always be stopped

02:00 PM Jun 08 2007 |

canon23

canon23

China

Great!

04:54 AM May 26 2007 |

Tran Huyen

Viet Nam

It is very nice

03:36 AM May 24 2007 |

vitto

vitto

Russian Federation

sorry guys, i've never seen this movie!

11:13 PM May 22 2007 |

bashuu

Mongolia

It is very nice

08:27 AM May 20 2007 |

david1111

david1111

South Korea

11

02:59 AM May 19 2007 |

Mohd

Qatar

oh , a wii see this movie.

07:54 AM May 17 2007 |

lynn0327

lynn0327

China

i like this film very much.  it's a miracle for this man .  after it  i awalys think about my life.there is something set up  sometimes i'm  afraid it….um~~i love leading lady in this flim.she's so beautiful….

05:47 AM May 17 2007 |

Likes (87):

See all >

Share this lesson:

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Bebo
  • Share on Myspace
  • Share on Twitter
  • Email this to a friend
  • Share on Sina

Post Ebaby! lessons on your blog:

Ebaby! Cast