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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who am I if I'm not myself?, 14 Nov 2005
It's one of those films from one of those directors. It makes some people fall in love and others get angry much like the work of Wes Anderson and Alexander Payne. You already know if this is your kind of thing (the prescence of the quite brilliant Jason Schwartzman is a signal of its indie pedigree) So if the recent 'Life Aquatic' made your blood boil then disregard the 5 star rating I've given this.I Heart Hukabees follows a young environmental(ist? conservationist?) trying to save a forest and some Marsh land who is convinced the repeated sighting of an ethiopian doorman is a hint that what he is doing isn't worthwhile. He Contacts Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin's 'Existential Detectives'. Through them we meet Tommy, a petrolium hating fireman with a short fuse and are gradually introduced to the people Albert is forced to deal with. The characters are really perfectly cast. Jude Law is in his element as a smug corprate hack, lets face it he's far too pretty to feel sympathetic towards. Dustin Hoffman is fantastic as Bernard portraying a strange, layed back enthusiasm and Naomi Watts is surprisingly game for making herself look utterly ridiculous. The film really rest on the shoulders of Schwartzman and Wahlberg though, the latter being the real massive surprise of the film since he gives by far the best performance of his career. The music is very impressive. Multi instrumentalist Jon Brion provides a score that can sound quaint one minute then epic and bewildering the next. The DVD also gives an insight into the reording process, the video for 'Knock Yourself Out' and a little infomercial in which he sits at the side on a stool playing songs from the film in the breaks. Go into this looking for a coherent plot and you're going to be dissapointed. Go Into this looking for a meaning of life and you'll feel the same way. But if you know what to expect from the so called 'American New Wave' of the late 90s that David O Russel is apparently a part of, it'll make you laugh and maybe even give up using petrol
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's all connected, 1 Jan 2006
"I Heart Huckabees" is one of those movies that will make you feel bad if you try to dislike it -- it's such an offbeat, amusing little movie that the incomprehensibility of the plot feel irrelevant. Despite a dose of existentialism and some vaguely Buddhist philosophy, director David O. Russell keeps it relatively light and fresh. Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) is a semi-successful environmentalist who is struggling to save a stretch of land. But a Wal-Mart-esque "Huckabees" franchise store is going to be erected, and the chain's executive, Brad Stand (Jude Law) is making life even worse for Albert. But things take a sudden twist when Albert encounters a doorman three times, and becomes convinced that the heck with coincidence -- this is clearly a sign. So he enlists a pair of existentialist detectives, Vivian and Bernard Jaffe (Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman), who believes that NOTHING happens by coincidence. Everything is connected, yada yada. As the detectives scrutinize Albert's life to find its meaning, the odd little trio encounter a conflicted fireman (Mark Wahlberg), a mysterious French woman, Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert) whose philosophy is the polar opposite of the Jaffes'. Imagine Charlie Kaufman pondering spiritual philosophy, and you've got the general tone of " I Heart Huckabees." It's got lines like "Have you ever transcended space and time?", but then dares to spin around and make fun of the very philosophies it ponders. Not many comedies with a message dare to do that. But can a movie be funny and yet study the nature of existance and nothingness? Apparently it can. It's a weird little film, but it intends to be -- it's a mixture of philosophical navel-gazing and goofy comedy. It often makes no sense, and its ending really isn't one. However, tolerant filmgoers may be carried away by its infectious sense of fun, and its wickedly funny dialogue. Jason Schwartzman was the soul of "Rushmore," and he's still endearing and lovably offbeat here. Jude Law seems flat and somewhat annoying, but Naomi Watts glows as his moderately bonkers girlfriend, who wants to check out her "infinite nature" by dressing like an Amish lunatic. Mark Wahlberg puts in a glorious performance as a very confused client, and Tomlin and Hoffman appear to be enjoying their quirky roles. "I Heart Huckabees" is the sort of quirky, half-serious-half-satirical film that only comes around once in a while. Okay, it doesn't make sense much of the time. Just sit back and enjoy the hilarious dialogue and solid acting.
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Get intelligent, stupid!, 8 May 2005
Some puzzling reviews on this page, particularly the troubling last one, compelled me to write a few words. If you come to watch 'I Heart Huckabees' because of Jude Law and leave disappointed because you perceive it as a 'star vehicle', isn't the problem less do with the film and more to do with the fact that you're an illogical hypocrite?'I Heart Huckabees' is in an unfortunate predicament because it has the kind of cast that will attract a mainstream audience, but the kind of plot and ideology that will alienate anyone hoping for a pedestrian hour and a half of Jude Law ogling. Jason Schwartzmann was the star of Wes Anderson's 'Rushmore' and is a tried hand at this kind of screwball, odd-com - David O. Russell's film is very much along the lines of Anderson's better works, 'Rushmore' and 'The Royal Tenenbaums' included. Naomi Watts and Jude Law are wonderfully plastic as the beautiful people at Huckabees (the fact that neither are American actors, both 'putting on' the accent, certainly helps). Mark Wahlberg is given a role that doesn't expose his acting weaknesses, instead playing to his strengths - he is all anger, confusion, and childish simplicity. Isabelle Huppert and Dustin Hoffman are delightful in supporting roles. But where this film particularly excels is, despite what other reviews suggest, in the plot. It starts with an hilariously off-beat premise - hiring an 'existential detective' to follow you around and pick apart the fabric of your life. It deliberately jars, plays to slapstick, and presents massive questions of existence through a rhetoric of quirkiness. It seems to be going nowhere, but in a manner that seems almost accidental, unites the different narrative threads and delivers a subtle, heart-warming conclusion that, despite its philosophical triumphs, doesn't resort to self-congratulation. There's a blend of overblown mock-gravitas and understated beauty in 'I Heart Huckabees' that shouldn't be underestimated. A pleasantly remarkable film. But if you want a night in reminding yourself of how much you're in love with Jude Law, you're better off just watching 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' for nth time.
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