Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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132 of 151 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved it, but perhaps not for everyone, October 15, 2004
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, though I could easily imagine while many would not. It follows very much in the footsteps of other major release but out-of-the-mainstream films such as BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, IGGY GOES DOWN, THE ROYAL TENNEBAUMS, and ADAPTATION. Anyone who enjoyed all or any of those films is very likely to like this one as well. Anyone who was put off by any or all of those films is unlikely to like I (HEART) HUCKABEES.
I don't want to provide any details about the story, since I believe that this is a film best enjoyed in a state of relative ignorance as to its plotline. Much of the joy in seeing the film for me was in its constantly surprising me with each twist the story took. I loved having no idea whither or where the narrative would lead, or even if it would find resolution in the end. It did, but it might not have been resolved in a fashion that would please every viewer. Without giving away any plot details, I can say that much of has the familiar feel of those undergraduate days spent contemplating existential philosophy. The ghost of Jean-Paul Sartre haunts the script.
As odd as the script is, it is remarkable that the producers were able to attract such an astonishing array of first rate actors. Though a collection of stars, it is in fact a tremendous ensemble cast, and all of the performers apparently content to be part of an interconnected group. Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin (I wonder if anyone else gets the impression that she has been virtually the same age for forty years) play a married couple who are also professional colleagues in a very unusual detective agency. Jason Schwartzman plays a young environmentalist who becomes their client. Jude Law is an executive with the Huckabees of the film's title (and who wears the same medium blue suit throughout the film). Naomi Watts plays his girlfriend (and official voice of Huckabees) and who is astonishingly beautiful throughout the film, whether adorned in clothing that inevitably resembles a bikini or in baggy overalls and Amish bonnet. Mark Wahlberg probably cannot be made less attractive than he is in this film, though it is also one of his more interesting roles, as a fireman who is like Schwartzman a client of Hoffman and Tomlin. The extraordinary Isabelle Huppert, whose appearances in English language films have been tragically rare, provides a Continental presence as the author of a book that Hoffman and Tomlin perceive as threatening to their activities.
Between the highly original and difficult-to-anticipate script, the excellent direction, and the superb ensemble cast, I found this to be an utterly enjoyable film. I hesitate, however, in giving it a blanket recommendation. While I loved its quirkiness, many more conservative filmgoers could find it a bit too adventurous. I repeat what I first said about this film: if you enjoyed the films mentioned in the first paragraph, you are likely to love this one, but if you found this unpleasant or simply too odd, you might want to avoid this one.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Test Whether You'll Love or Hate this Love It or Hate It Movie, July 30, 2006
"I Heart Huckabees" is the ultimate love it / hate it movie. Few will say, "I could either go see 'I Heart Huckabees' or whatever else is playing at the multiplex."
Me? I loved "I Heart Huckabees." I loved it so much I can't even review it. I loved every performance, every line of dialogue; I loved it so much I want to form a club with others who loved this movie ... Normally, I can't stand Jason Schwartzman, and even he didn't ruin it for me.
How can you tell which camp you'll fall into? Here's a test. Agree or Disagree with the following statements:
1.) My friends and family tell me I think too much, and that my life would be much easier if I would just relax and not rock the boat.
2.) I've tried meditation, but gotten sidetracked when I found myself imagining taking a machete to people who annoy me.
3.) I could pick Franz Kafka out of a line-up that included Jean Paul Satre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Buster Keaton.
4.) The thought of sex with a nihilist leaves me contemplating nothingness, and yet strangely aroused.
5.) I've always wanted to see Marky Mark bicycle in fireman's knee-high rubber boots, while protesting the world petroleum crisis.
6.) I once lost a girlfriend / boyfriend to someone who was cover-model pretty / handsome, but had no soul, and that, yet again, caused me to think too much, and then to meditate, and then to imagine the whole machete thing.
7.) I think that the objectification of women is shallow and obscene, and Amish bonnets turn me on.
8.) Dustin Hoffman does a faux friendly, "I've got your nuts in my cracker" smile better and better as he ages.
9.) Lily Tomlin is reason enough to see any movie.
10.) Cruely, Manipulation, Meaninglessness.
Give yourself as many points as you want for each "yes" answer, and then give yourself an equal number of points for each "no" answer. Cause, you know? It's all one.
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59 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Satire of Therapy and Philosophical Quest Works, October 25, 2004
The plot of this crazed movie--which is as deranged as Being John Malkovich--is that an earnest young environmentalist-poet Albert Markosvski, afflicted with anxieties and rage, consults an existential spy network to survey his existence in the hope to find clues to his malady and to find Ultimate Truth. During his truth quest, Albert meets other neurotics and misfits, including an angry fireman played with great hilarity by Mark Wahlberg of Boogie Nights fame. The film is an intelligent, complex romp of the earnest quest for truth, therapy, metaphysics, self-aggrandizing posers of all stripes. For the first ten minutes, I wasn't willing to surrender to this movie of ideas but when I realized it was a playful fable, a sort of film version of Voltaire's Candide, I relaxed and let the film's magic sweep me away. For fans of the aforementioned Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, there is a strong probablity that you will love this film.
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