I Heart Huckabees (2004)

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 Amazon.com

1.5 stars out of 4

The Bottom Line:

Aside from an amusing performance by Mark Wahlberg, I Heart Huckabees has little to recommend it unless you enjoy fantastically pretentious movies that eschew sense-making in favor of directorial indulgence. December 22, 2008

I Heart This Movie

I don't like to write reviews - its work and I'm busy, but I'd like people to know about this really fun film. I love it, it's fun, it's clever and it makes you feel good. Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin are great in this. Mark Walberg, Jude Law and Tea Leoni (sp?) are letting their hair down and not playing the usual Hollywood STARS that I, too, like,but in this case, their talent is put to another use - FUN! This film is especially for anyone that's had to suffer through a semester of Nietzsche or Michel Foucault. May 12, 2008

Dumbest Movie Ever

This movie was absolutely horrible. A complete wasted of time!!! THe only reason I gave it two stars is b/c the actors did a good job, but it was completely ruined by the story line. It didnt even make any sense..............absolutely terrible.......what a dissapointment March 22, 2008

If you get it, then you must've missed the point

A fun movie with odd characters that's meant to be more entertainment than a decisive view of existentialism. The actors portraying the main characters, mainly Mark Wahlberg and Jason Schwartzman are great in their roles. February 20, 2008

definitely for a certain kind of viewer

I was just glowing after seeing this movie and I definitely dropped about 30 bucks to buy this as soon as it came out, and I guess you could say it was well worth the money because I watch it so often. Jude Law and Mark Wahlberg are so funny in this! I will admit that it's very quirky and random; I would compare it's comedic and random aspects to The Science of Sleep, which I also loved, but it's style will not appeal everyone. But let me just say, its not about "getting" it or not; Jason Schwartzman and the 'detectives' lay it out almost too clearly in the last 10 minutes of the movie. January 16, 2008

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