Шындықтан да басым, қиялдан да керемет

Helm named each of the film's chief characters after a famous scientist or scientifically influential artist, including Crick, Pascal, Eiffel, Escher and David Hilbert. When the character of Dr. Hilbert tells Harold that he has devised a series of 23 questions to investigate the narrator, it is a playful reference to Hilbert's 23 problems. The film's title derives from a quote by Lord Byron: "Tis strange — but true; for truth is always strange, stranger than fiction." According to Helm, one of the film's major themes is of interconnectivity. Helm stated, "Each of these characters ends up doing little things to save one another. There's an underlying theme that the things we take most for granted are often the ones that make life worth living and actually keep us alive." Hilbert's office was in a lecture hall at the University of Illinois Chicago. The CNA Center at 333 South Wabash Avenue, in the Loop, served as the location of the IRS office. The bakery that Ana Pascal runs is located in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, and is called La Catedral Cafe & Restaurant. The movie theater in the film is the Logan Theatre, located in the Logan Square neighborhood. Many downtown Chicago locations were used for scenes involving Karen Eiffel, Penny Escher and Harold Crick. The film partly was inspired by Playtime, Jacques Tati's visionary comedy about modern urban life, and the cinematography and production designs help create a claustrophobic sense of life in the city.

Stranger than Fiction was released in the United States November 10, 2006. It opened at number 4 at the box office, behind Borat, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause and Flushed Away, and grossed $13.4 million in 2,264 theaters. Its widest release was 2,270 theaters, from which it grossed $40.7 million. Outside the U. S., it grossed another $13 million, for a worldwide total of $53.6 million. On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 67 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B+" on a scale of A+ to F.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, stating that the film was thought provoking and moral, and that "such an uncommonly intelligent film does not often get made which requires us to enter the lives of these specific quiet, sweet, worthy people". He also praised Ferrell's performance, saying, "Will Ferrell stars, in another role showing that like Steve Martin and Robin Williams he has dramatic gifts to equal his comedic talent." Rolling Stone rated the film 3 stars out of 4, stating that, although the premise of Ferrell's life being narrated is a set up for farce, the film is "less self reflexively clever and more intimate". Todd McCarthy in Variety reviewed the film positively, praising its invention, and Ferrell's performance as nuanced; first playing a tight focused caricature of the company man, then exercising more humanity and wit without being "goofy".

Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref. Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Comedy by or About Women Marc Forster Best Actress in a Comedic Performance Emma Thompson Critics' Choice Awards Best Supporting Actress Best Writer Zach Helm Golden Globe Awards Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Will Ferrell Hollywood Film Awards Casting Director of the Year Francine Maisler London Film Critics Circle Awards British Supporting Actress of the Year Emma Thompson National Board of Review Awards Best Original Screenplay Zach Helm PEN America Literary Awards Best Screenplay Satellite Awards Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Will Ferrell Saturn Awards Best Fantasy Film Best Actor Will Ferrell Best Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal Best Supporting Actress Emma Thompson Best Writing Zach Helm Utah Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal Writers Guild of America Awards Best Original Screenplay Zach Helm