10. I Heart Huckabees (2004); An existential comedy.

I Heart Huckabees

Directed by David O. Russell

Written by Jeff Baena

Starring Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman,

Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, Naomi Watts

I was first introduced to this movie when I heard about the Lily Tomlin versus David O. Russell “freak out” a few years ago. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SG43wa7Alo&feature=related )As funny as I thought that was, I was truly interested in seeing what made her so upset and what he had spent three years of his life working on. I was so excited when I saw that I Heart Huckabees was one of the fifteen movies that Nicole chose for me.

The philosophies of existentialism and nihilism were portrayed through two sets of characters; Isabelle Huppert’s character (nihilism, believing that everything occurs by it's own accord; that nothing is linked) and the married couple played by Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman (existentialism, which they rename to "universal interconnectivity".) As detectives and activists of their respected philosophies, the general public can hire them to help better understand a coincidence or any sort of unnatural connection they may have to something. Jason Schwartzman’s character, Albert Markovski, first goes to Mr. and Mrs. Jaffe to better understand why he has randomly seen this one man several times over the last few days. He feels that there is some special reason that he has connected with this man but he is unsure of how it relates to his life. By hiring the Jaffes, he has forced himself into a situation where they literally follow him around all day and butt into his personal and work related issues. Their esteemed rival, Caterine Vauban, also gets involved to prove them wrong and convince Albert that her philosophy of nihilism and absurdism is more believable.

Along the way, Albert meets Tommy Corn, played by Mark Walberg, who is a strong follower of Caterine’s. While obsessing over a petroleum related issue, he helps convince Albert that the Jaffes are wrong and the only way to believe is through the nihilistic nature. Albert is also confronted with the harassment from his colleague Brad Stand, played by Jude Law, who is trying to take over his position.

I loved Mark Walberg is this film. I have only seen him in a few things, but after watching M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, I had written him off in my book. His rendition of the character was so entertaining. He was moody and defensive and never took off his fire fighting boots. Whether it was the character itself, or just him, I am defiantly a fan of the performance.

One of the things I loved best about this movie was the story that Brad Stand kept repeating this ridiculous story about meeting Shania Twain and tricking her into eating a chicken salad sandwich. (Which, now that I think about might be one of Nicole’s favorite parts as well… right Nicole?) While this was shown to portray how his character needed to boost his own self-esteem and make it seem like he was “all that,” it was still really fun to listen to him obsess over it.

The production designs in this movie were wonderful. Little things such as the small squares and rectangles drawn onto Mr. Jaffe’s chalkboard behind his desk. And the overalls and bonnet Brad’s girlfriend decides to wear after her “run-in” with the Jaffe’s is hilarious. Except Naomi Watts is so cute that she would look good in anything.

This movie kind of makes you question your own beliefs and philosophies about life. The ending was just the way it needed to be.

Love it!