Movie Description
David O. Russell, the director of dark incest comedy SPANKING THE MONKEY, slapstick ensemble FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, and Gulf War adventure THE THREE KINGS, has established himself as a boldly original filmmaker. With his fourth film, I HEART HUCKABEES, Russell continues to defy easy definition, mixing physical comedy, existential philosophy, corporate satire, and quixotic quest. Jason Schwartzman, proving that he is capable of more than simply reviving his iconic RUSHMORE character, plays Albert, an environmental activist prone to bad poetry and self-doubt. During his campaign to stop Huckabees, a suburban superstore, from destroying marshland, Albert's group is taken over by one of the store's vapidly charming salesmen, a pitch-perfect Jude Law. Utterly distraught and questioning the meaning of life, Albert seeks the help of a bizarre husband-and-wife team of "existential detectives." By spying on Albert's daily life, they seek to help him answer that most elemental of human questions, "Why am I here?"
A stellar ensemble class including Naomi Watts, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Isabelle Huppert, and an inspired Mark Wahlberg manage to do justice to the sparkling wit and intelligence of the script. In less adept hands, the pace and complexity of the film could easily become a chaotic mess. Yet Russell, in what is arguably his finest film to date, proves that a movie need not be esoteric to tackle the profound.
| Credits | | Cast: | Dustin Hoffman, Mark Wahlberg |
| Details | | Edition: | Dual Side; Checkpoint |
Editorial Reviews
"[The film] captures liberal-left despair with astonishingly good humor..."
New York Times - Manohla Dargis (10/01/2004)
"[E]xuberant and often poignant....Schwartzman and Law are pitch-perfect in their roles..."
Los Angeles Times - Carina Chocano (10/01/2004)
"[W]hat emerges is part screwball comedy, absurdist farce, social satire and earnest self-exploration....Director Robert Zemeckis' feature debut truly encapsulates that time."
USA Today - Claudia Puig (10/01/2004)
"[With] imaginatively conceived and executed special effects....By far the most original comedy of the year."
Premiere - Glenn Kenny (11/01/2004)
"Russell is a true original. It's not in his DNA to play it safe....HUCKABEES is one more reason to follow him anywhere."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (10/28/2004)
"There's a transgressive thrill in watching Huppert....Russell shares Kaufman's attention to the banal, and like ADAPTATION, this is a story that comments on its own unfolding."
Sight and Sound - Ben Walters (12/01/2004)
"HUCKABEES is like no other film you've seen....It's full of ideas, non-sequiturs and puzzles, and insanely inspired..."
Uncut - Chris Roberts (12/01/2004)
"David O. Russell has made a daring metaphysical comedy that touches on the insanities that rock our world."
Spirituality & Health (05/01/2005)
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gBLFeBy(qcg~~_32.JPG "I Heart Huckabees (DVD, 2006, Dual Side; Checkpoint)")
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