Film: I (*heart*) Huckabees

I (Heart) Huckabees

Once I realized that David O Russells' (SPANKING THE MONKEY, FLIRTING WITH DISASTER & THREE KINGS) "existentialist comedy" was going absolutely nowhere & was about as deep as a piss stream I was able to sit back & enjoy the universally excellent performances by the cast. Jason Schwartzman & Mark Wahlberg give the best performances of their careers with Wahlberg's spot on comic timing making their scenes together a real treat...yeah I know I wrote "comic timing" & "Mark Wahlberg" in the same sentence but believe me, here he's a revelation. Jude Law is perfect as the slimy corporate lackey & Isabel Huppert is hilarious in a role that recalls a mix of Linda Fiorentino in LAST SEDUCTION & Huppert's deranged role in THE PIANO TEACHER. Naomi Watts, in a small role, once again reveals another dimension & continues to amaze. Oddly enough the weakest performances are turned in by Lily Tomlin (one of my all time fave comic actresses) & Dustin Hoffman. Both seem to be on auto pilot as if they (justifiably so) do not trust either the director or his material.

As I said the film goes absolutely nowhere as the characters are but caricatures, there's no real story & Russell understands
existentialism about as well as I do astrophysics. There are a LOT of really good individual scenes in the film & some pretty ingenuous set pieces but nothing adds up. But it certainly is a unique film & probably the oddest movie made & released by a major studio since Russ Meyer's BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. What makes I (HEART)HUCKABEES ultimately so infuriating is that there is SO much good in it & the cast is so letter perfect that the concept & the actors really deserved a lot more effort & thought from Russell.

I would've felt a lot harsher towards the film had I any loftier
expectations on the way in. I knew the film was problematic & it
wasn't even on my list of theatrical must sees but I just happened to be walking past a theatre that had bargain matinees & its start time was only 10 minutes away so I figured what the hell. Two interesting things happened after the movie: I heard a fellow patron exclaim "I paid to see a DAVID O Russell movie but what I got was a KEN Russell movie", a remark that drew multiple murmurs or "good one" from all within earshot (including yours truly). The other interesting thing was that I saw Peter Dinkladge, the "little person" from the great film from last year THE STATION AGENT. He really IS little, btw...I mean I know he's a little person but MAN is that guy tiny!! He'd have to stand on tippy toes just to punch me in the balls! He’s currently starring in RICHARD III off Broadway, which is I guess why he was at the matinee...or perhaps his STATION AGENT royalty cheque didn't clear this month. Anyhow, I heard him exclaim to the attractive woman he was with "what a pile of crap that was. So much waste. Could've been good".

So take it from Cydonorb & Richard III, I (HEART) HUCKABEES is an
interesting dud. Not worthless but not nearly as good as it could've been.

iiiii

rate this now

I feel the same as the above. Marky Mark was really great though, which was surprising. Still, I have to give props to the movie for being one of the most original and intellectual movies to come out of hollywood in years. Its easy to see why such a great cast signed on.

I'm glad to see that this film sucks.

On my birthday they were having a Director's screening associated with the theater school. Noone invited me, and I have been bitter about it since.

I also agree with the original poster on this one. There were a lot of great little pieces, but the movie as a whole disappointed me.

i havent seen it, but from the previews it reminded me of a wes anderson wannabe...i'll rate it after i see it, probably this weekend.

Just saw this one tonight.

David O Russell has blended together a fabulously original script, excellent acting and comedic genius into what was the most rediculous film I have ever seen.

I'd love to hear what other people's favorite parts were. For the time being I'd have to say it was the kid playing basketball with the beard and handlebar mustache.

SG

I saw this a couple weeks ago, and thought it was an amazing film.

Very funny and intelligent. Everyone who took philosophy courses will definately be intellectually entertained. I loved the constant chase for answers to life's most timeless questions and just when you think they are going to reveal some profound truth to solve it all, you are let down to search yet again and again.

I thought the plot was extremely original, being both serious and completely absurd.

Re: I (Heart) Huckabees

cydonorb said:

As I said the film goes absolutely nowhere as the characters are but caricatures, there's no real story & Russell understands
existentialism about as well as I do astrophysics.

Click to expand...

I can't believe you just said that. Not to put you down or anything but, could you have just completely missed the entire point of the film?

Maybe this will help..?

ex·is·ten·tial·ism ( P ) Pronunciation Key (gz-stnsh-lzm, ks-)
n.
A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.

This movie was pretty cool. Mark Wahlberg, who hasn't acted well since Boogie Nights, made his character the most believable in an otherwise ridiculous story. The film reminded me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind -- but it is not as good. Jude Law's corporate "goal-oriented" dialogue was hilarious as well as the way all the sap characters were taken in by it. The environmentally friendly business theme was also funny, which I guess is kind of the point of the title -- that anything can be branded and sold.

Oh yeah, and the scene with Jason Schwartzmann's Dad talking about his stereo was also funny. A scantly clad Naomi Watts prancing around, ain't too bad either.

I didn't see this movie, but I watched the Charlie Rose interview of Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin and David O. Russell and I couldn't believe that two brilliant, witty actors were taking direction from such a pompous little prick. Maybe they confused his obnoxious arrogance with simple youthful hubris.

The worst was when he started talking about how quantum physics proves Buddhism too be true. (Yes, I have read "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" by Gary Zukav. I only finished the tripe because I was in jail and didn't have much to read. It was complete bullshit.) If someone is spouting off on Zen and quantum mechanics, they get a gigantic intellectual cockslap from me and I no longer have any respect whatsoever for them (unless they are on acid at the time.)

Re: Re: I (Heart) Huckabees

pa.. said:

I can't believe you just said that. Not to put you down or anything but, could you have just completely missed the entire point of the film?

Maybe this will help..?

ex·is·ten·tial·ism ( P ) Pronunciation Key (gz-stnsh-lzm, ks-)
n.
A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.

Click to expand...

Well you pretty much did just put me down by being so damm condescending.

I understand & know what existentialism is. I'm just not so sure Russell does. Just throwing up various aspects of a philosophy at the screen & adding cartoon characters does not make one an expert.

To me HUCKABEES was wafer thin, sophmoric & really not much more than intellectual vaudeville. As I wrote in my original post there were many things to admire about the film but ultimately I found it to be a worthy dud. I was infuriated that Russell didn't work a little harder to bring this one home. I still consider it a film worth seeing which I cannot say for 98% of the films currently in theatres. But if you're only an occasional filmgoer you will do better to check out SIDEWAYS, TARNATION, or MARIA FULL OF GRACE.

Had HUCKABEES been a lesser film by a lesser talent it wouldn't have been so infuriating to me. I feel that had Russell spent more time on the script & had allowed the characters to evolve more it would've been a much more satisfying experience. BTW Russsell is in good company as I feel the same way towards Lynch's THE LOST HIGHWAY & Kubricks's EYES WIDE SHUT--films that are worth seeing because they are made by great artists but are alas minor works by the masters.

loved it, dirk diggler rocked in this, law was excellent also.

I thought the movie was excellent. I was expected total crap based on all the reviews I had read of it but was pleasently surprised by it while watching it last night. I have to watch it again today to let it soak in more, but there is alot more going on in this movie than most people seem to understand.

Excellent movie as far as i'm concerned. If for nothing more.. it's at least somewhat original and a break from hollywood's monotony.

Nice to see a decet piece of American arthouse cinema for a change.

I heart Huckabees

I thought it was great. One of the most decent films I've seen in a while.
Probably my favorite scene is the part where Jason and Mark are hitting each other with the ball. The look on Mark's face as he gets hit is worth the price of the rental. I sort of treated it like a fun movie. Probably the acting in the movie
is one of the strongest points. Its an actor's movie. Sure the philosophy is wafer thin. How could it be anything else but?

How am I not myself?

the scene where jason schwartzman is sucking on jude laws milk-spurting female breast was the most disturbing thing i have ever seen.

i thought it was more of a satire than anything else. the end sucked though.

Damn straight on the satire part. I saw the whole film as sending up the philosophies presented in it. The acting was spot on, and while the characters were under explored it lent to the unrealistic feel of the film, reminiscent in a very very minor way to the alienation effect. While it definitely not a classic it is a good step in the right direction. Motorcycle Diaries was better, but I Heart Huckabees was still smarter that the average bear.

I Heart Huckabees

Who else thought this movie was excellent??

Yet another amazing performance from Isabelle Hubbert and omg! Mark Whalberg has just gained another fan.

Existentialism hasn't been discussed so openly in other films before, so it was refreshing and awesome.

What did u guys think?