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Back Shelf Beauties
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I Heart Huckabees Several very smart people have told me they had trouble understanding I Heart Huckabees, so I'm screwed. Somehow, in spite of my lack of intellect, I enjoyed the movie and hope you will too. It might not be the big Oscar contender some thought it would be, but it's fun. Jason Schwartzman stars as Albert - the high-strung, idealistic leader of an environmental activist group. He is puzzled by a series of chance meetings with a tall man, and wants to know the significance of these coincidences, so he seeks the help of existential detectives (if you just said, "that's stupid", this movie might not be for you). Vivian (Lily Tomlin) and Bernard (Dustin Hoffman) are the detectives who investigate every aspect of a client's life to help determine why certain things happen and help the person understand the big picture. In this case, Vivian and Bernard slowly start to upset Albert as they stray from the original investigation to examine his real problems. Albert is losing control of his group and developing a nasty rivalry with Brad Stand (Jude Law) - a slick marketing executive with the Huckabees department store chain. Before you know it, Vivian and Bernard are involved with Albert, Brad and many more. What is the significance of the tall man? Can we get to the bottom of Albert's and Brad's problems? I Heart Huckabees is one of the most challenging films of the year. I enjoyed all of the pseudo-intellectual psychobabble dialogue as parody, but if you take it seriously and try to dissect every line of the script, your head will be swimming, and you'll find it all very silly. Writer/director David O. Russell and co-writer Joseph Baena provide a script akin to a late night dorm room debate among college philosophy majors who enjoy the wacky tobacky, but it's a delightfully quirky and entertaining story that equally mocks and embraces everyone who seeks meaning through mystical new age philosophy or the latest fad guru. While the story might not be your cup of tea, the acting will surprise you. Every actor deserves kudos for wrapping his or her tongues around this difficult dialogue. Tomlin and Hoffman are enjoyable as the kooky detectives willing to exert any effort for the cause. Both have their big moments, and both will have you laughing. Schwartzman is great as the frustrated and flustered tree hugger who uses poetry to express his arguments, but the best performances come from Naomi Watts and Mark "Don't Call Me Marky Mark" Wahlberg. Watts gets a chance to show her funny side as Dawn - the voice, face and body of Huckabees who wants to be appreciated for more than her good looks. She takes a character who could be very annoying (because it's soooo hard to be famous and financially well off because you have a great body), and makes us sympathize with her plight. Meanwhile, Wahlberg shows he is the best at taking advantage of Baena and Russell's wild dialogue. As a fireman who has become a strong anti-oil activist after September 11, he creates a character who dives deeper into this existential stuff than anyone else, and effectively shows us his inner rage. The lines roll off his tongue like it's second nature, which isn't easy to do in this film. I Heart Huckabees isn't for everyone, so don't hate me if you go to the Cineplex and want your money back. However, I think you'll have a good time if you appreciate the film for the farce it is. 3 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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