Film critic Owen Gleiberman commented in Entertainment Weekly on why movies like Pulp Fiction and Memento are able to use showing scenes out of chronological sequence to such good effect. He said this technique "...has evolved in no small part because audiences today are so attuned to the detours and ruses of conventional storytelling. When a story is told out of order, it's far easier to conjure up that surprise, that 'what's going to happen next?'...what started as a novelty has now edged into the mainstream..."
Of course another way to appeal to a jaded audience is to come up with an unusual premise. That's what Stranger Than Fiction does. Will Farrell's presence and the trailers led me to expect it to be a lot funnier, but it's not bad. However, it does feature a voice over of a supposedly talented novelist reading parts of her book--and they are so boring that I can't imagine anybody ever reading past page one. Fortunately, the V.O. is used much less in the second half. Also, writers will find some unintentional humour in how the life of a writer is portrayed.