Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8247 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

Who am I if I'm not myself?
It's one of those films from one of those directors. It makes some people fall in love and others get angry much like the work of Wes Anderson and Alexander Payne. You already know if this is your kind of thing (the prescence of the quite brilliant Jason Schwartzman is a signal of its indie pedigree) So if the recent 'Life Aquatic' made your blood boil then disregard the 5 star rating I've given this.

I Heart Hukabees follows a young environmental(ist? conservationist?) trying to save a forest and some Marsh land who is convinced the repeated sighting of an ethiopian doorman is a hint that what he is doing isn't worthwhile. He Contacts Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin's 'Existential Detectives'. Through them we meet Tommy, a petrolium hating fireman with a short fuse and are gradually introduced to the people Albert is forced to deal with.

The characters are really perfectly cast. Jude Law is in his element as a smug corprate hack, lets face it he's far too pretty to feel sympathetic towards. Dustin Hoffman is fantastic as Bernard portraying a strange, layed back enthusiasm and Naomi Watts is surprisingly game for making herself look utterly ridiculous. The film really rest on the shoulders of Schwartzman and Wahlberg though, the latter being the real massive surprise of the film since he gives by far the best performance of his career.

The music is very impressive. Multi instrumentalist Jon Brion provides a score that can sound quaint one minute then epic and bewildering the next. The DVD also gives an insight into the reording process, the video for 'Knock Yourself Out' and a little infomercial in which he sits at the side on a stool playing songs from the film in the breaks.

Go into this looking for a coherent plot and you're going to be dissapointed. Go Into this looking for a meaning of life and you'll feel the same way. But if you know what to expect from the so called 'American New Wave' of the late 90s that David O Russel is apparently a part of, it'll make you laugh and maybe even give up using petrol

It's all connected
"I Heart Huckabees" is one of those movies that will make you feel bad if you try to dislike it -- it's such an offbeat, amusing little movie that the incomprehensibility of the plot feel irrelevant. Despite a dose of existentialism and some vaguely Buddhist philosophy, director David O. Russell keeps it relatively light and fresh.

Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) is a semi-successful environmentalist who is struggling to save a stretch of land. But a Wal-Mart-esque "Huckabees" franchise store is going to be erected, and the chain's executive, Brad Stand (Jude Law) is making life even worse for Albert. But things take a sudden twist when Albert encounters a doorman three times, and becomes convinced that the heck with coincidence -- this is clearly a sign.

So he enlists a pair of existentialist detectives, Vivian and Bernard Jaffe (Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman), who believes that NOTHING happens by coincidence. Everything is connected, yada yada. As the detectives scrutinize Albert's life to find its meaning, the odd little trio encounter a conflicted fireman (Mark Wahlberg), a mysterious French woman, Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert) whose philosophy is the polar opposite of the Jaffes'.

Imagine Charlie Kaufman pondering spiritual philosophy, and you've got the general tone of " I Heart Huckabees." It's got lines like "Have you ever transcended space and time?", but then dares to spin around and make fun of the very philosophies it ponders. Not many comedies with a message dare to do that.

But can a movie be funny and yet study the nature of existance and nothingness? Apparently it can. It's a weird little film, but it intends to be -- it's a mixture of philosophical navel-gazing and goofy comedy. It often makes no sense, and its ending really isn't one. However, tolerant filmgoers may be carried away by its infectious sense of fun, and its wickedly funny dialogue.

Jason Schwartzman was the soul of "Rushmore," and he's still endearing and lovably offbeat here. Jude Law seems flat and somewhat annoying, but Naomi Watts glows as his moderately bonkers girlfriend, who wants to check out her "infinite nature" by dressing like an Amish lunatic. Mark Wahlberg puts in a glorious performance as a very confused client, and Tomlin and Hoffman appear to be enjoying their quirky roles.

"I Heart Huckabees" is the sort of quirky, half-serious-half-satirical film that only comes around once in a while. Okay, it doesn't make sense much of the time. Just sit back and enjoy the hilarious dialogue and solid acting.

Emperor's new clothes....
Some nice performances and slick pseudo-indie direction, but ultimately a disappointment. I get the impression that you're supposed to see past the irritating plot to something clever, but unfortunately I didn't see it.