DVD Review

I ♥ Huckabees

I Heart Huckabees is about a young guy who isn?t sure what his life means. But the catch is that the film is told in a philosophical standpoint. The main character Albert (Jason Schwartzman) is infatuated with a coincidence that recently occurred to him various times, and believes there's meaning behind the consistency. Albert then enlists the help of existential detectives, Bernard (Dustin Hoffman) and Vivan (Lily Tomlin), to figure out what it all means.

This is a very strange film and it is not meant for everyone. The film was written/directed by David O. Russell, whose previous movie Three Kings (B+) was an easier film to take in; it was about three soldiers who broke their code after the Golf War ended by trying to save refugees who were being slaughtered. Three Kings was about doing what you thought was right in a controversial situation, and it was a very fine story of courage.

I Heart Huckabees is about our search of finding happiness in a world of chaos. It?s also about finding out what the littlest occurrences in our daily life mean toward our existence (and how few of us dissect them), and the film explores the range of emotions we go through. I have to admit that when I first saw the film in theaters I didn?t have a solid grasp of its material (but found it quite unique), and I misunderstood certain plot details. The story is told quickly and the dialogue is rapidly paced, and so it is easy to miss things at first sight.

The film also has a vast sensibility of philosophy and religion, and so if you are not knowledgeable in those areas (I am not), it can be difficult to understand at times. I watched Huckabees twice on DVD and I was just beginning to understand some of the roots beneath the story (with help from the commentaries). These are the kinds of films I tend to like the most: You try and take everything in the first time, but discover different things in each viewing.

The film is also a wacky comedy, and Russell and co-writer Jeff Baena poke fun at themselves in acknowledging that not all of this technical talk makes sense. There?s a scene in the opening segment in which Vivian is grilling Albert: ?Have you ever transcended space in time?? and Albert responds, ?Yes. No - time, not space. No, I don?t know what you?re talking about.? The comic relief doesn?t always work (sometimes it's just plain silly), but these characters? mentalities are delved into, making it easy for us to care about them.

I Heart Huckabees is essentially the story of life, or how David O. Russell views the cycles of life. Some people will claim that the story is absurd, and that is an understandable viewpoint; others will admire the spiritual intelligence and the actors? performances (Mark Wahlberg, in particular, shines). I found it quite fascinating, and the film was one of my favorites of 2004.

Special Features include two commantaries: one by David O. Russell in which he elaborates on the logistics of the story; the second which includes Russell, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, and a brief appearance (through a cell-phone call) by Naomi Watts. The commentaries will be more fun and enlightening to those who appreciated the film?s intent.

Lee's Grade: B+
Ranked #30 of 120 between Saved! (#29) and Saw (#31) for 2004 movies.

A	0.4%
B	30.0%
C	61.7%
D	8.0%
F	0.0%