Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7383 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Billed as "an existential comedy," I Heart Huckabees is a flawed yet endearingly audacious screwball romp that dares to ponder life's biggest questions. Much of director David O. Russell's philosophical humor is dense, talky, and impenetrable, leading critic Roger Ebert to observe that "it leaves the viewer out of the loop," and suggesting that Russell's screenplay (written with his assistant, Jeff Baena) is admirably bold yet frustratingly undisciplined. Russell's ideas are big but his expression of them is frenetic, centering on the unlikely pairing of an environmentalist (Jason Schwartzman) and a firefighter (Mark Wahlberg) as they depend on existential detectives (Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman) and a French nihilist (Isabelle Huppert) to make sense of their existential crises, brought on (respectively) by a two-faced chain-store executive (Jude Law) and his spokesmodel girlfriend (Naomi Watts), and the aftermath of 9/11's terrorism. No brief description can do justice to Russell's comedic conceit; you'll either be annoyed and mystified or elated and delighted by this wacky primer for coping with 21st century lunacy. Deserving of its mixed reviews, I Heart Huckabees is an audacious mess, like life itself, and accepting that is the key to enjoying both. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
David O. Russell, the director of dark incest comedy SPANKING THE MONKEY, slapstick ensemble FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, and Gulf War adventure THE THREE KINGS; 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

Customer Reviews

Amazing. I don't see how people can think otherwise.
This is in response to all the negative reviews i just read. Amazing idea, fantastic cast and it IS really funny. How anyone can think this is boring and meaningless is beyond me. Maybe this film is more about you than you realize! 'How am I not myself, How am I not myself, How am I not myself??.........'etc

This is such a clever and funny film
I'm partly amazed by the negative reviews on this page. When I saw this film at the cinema I came out thinking it was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time and certainly one of the cleverest full stop.

It is a constant debate upon the two philosophical views of the world: Everything's Connected or Everything's Separate. Think about the political extremes that people have (left wing/liberal to right wing) and you see how these two extreme philosophies dominate our lives.

So it's incredibly clever and demands repeat viewing to see the constant comments about our perceptions and views. Plus it's brilliantly funny as well!

So ignore the past negative opinions. If you want a film that's a refreshing change from the brainless pap that dominates the cinemas then see this brilliant and funny film.

"You rock, rock!" Best existential screwball comedy about a blanket in years...!
This is just inspired filmmaking. Perfectly goofy, hilarious in many places and a complete delight. It's totally cohesive as a narrative and perfectly believable in its own way. It has some truly wonderful performances from Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, Lily Tomlin... hell, even Dustin Hoffman reignites some of the old magic for his part. On repeated viewings, perhaps Jude Law's character begins to get right up your nose and Naomi Watts seems criminally underused, but this is still a breath of fresh air.
As for the philosophy, for me it was all perfectly palateable, having much in common with New Agey/ancient Indian thought. But the director has an incredibly light touch and seamlessly weaves in the profundities to the story... this is no snoozefest (unlike the more lauded but far more tedious Life Aquatic...) It was continually surprising and I had a smile plastered on my face throughout each viewing... much as I had when I saw Being John Malkovich.