I Heart Huckabees (R)

Brilliant existential comedy for adults only.

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Common Sense rates it
5
Seen the movie? Review it
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Movie details
  • Studio: Fox Searchlight, Fox Searchlight
  • Directed By: David Russell
  • Cast: Jude Law, Naomi Watts
  • Running Time: 106 minutes
  • Release Date: 09/30/2004
  • Video/DVD Release Date: 02/22/2005
  • Genre: Comedy
  • MPAA Rating: R
  • MPAA Explanation: language and a sex scene

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie has extremely strong language (it begins with a very colorful stream of epithets), and some sexual references and one brief explicit sexual situation. Characters drink and smoke. The movie includes mild comic peril and some tense confrontations.

Families can talk about politics, economics, psychology and religion, and utilitarianism versus idealistic extremism.

Message

Social Behavior:

All major characters white.

Consumerism:

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Drinking, smoking.

Violence

Mild comic peril and scuffles.

Sex

Sexual references, brief explicit sexual situation.

Language

Extremely strong language.

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Nell Minow

In I HEART HUCKABEES, Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) is having problems at work. The Open Spaces coalition he put together to oppose development of a marsh and woods is losing its focus, thanks to the charm and dazzle of Brad Stand (Jude Law), a smooth public relations guy from a WalMart-like chain called Huckabees, "the everything store." But what Albert wants to understand is a coincidence. He has seen the same tall young African man three times in three very different circumstances and wants to know what that means. So he goes to a husband and wife team of "existential detectives," Vivian (Lily Tomlin) and Bernard Jaffe (Dustin Hoffman) and asks them to investigate. He just wants them to examine the coincidence and tells them to stay away from his office, but since they believe that everything is connected they accept no limitations; they may not even see any. Meanwhile, another client of the existential detectives is having, well, an existential crisis. A fireman named Tommy (Mark Wahlberg) is reading a book by Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert) that says nothing in life is connected or meaningful, and that feels much more real to him than what the Jaffes have been telling him. Brad Stand has also hired the Jaffes, and is not prepared for what happens when they begin talking to his girlfriend, Dawn (Naomi Watts), the bikini-wearing Huckabees spokesmodel.

Is it any good?

5
There aren't many comedies about existentialism, and the brilliance of this movie is the way it uses the form of the screwball comedy to both represent and explore existential themes. The movie has a sure sense of comic structure and timing, with classic comedy conventions like high-speed dialogue, wild plot permutations, family craziness, over-reaction to trivial things, under-reaction to non-trivial things, some sharp satire about our consumer culture, a little slapstick, some terrible poetry, and of course a few romantic complications. I Heart Huckabees is clearly the product of someone who has waded through teutonic philosophy and eastern mysticism and fortunately come out the other side with his sense of humor intact.

Director and co-screenwriter David O. Russell has a lot of fun playing with the classic philosophical dualities/debates. The difference between philosophy and art is that philosophy tries to deal with dichotomies in a logical and linear way, while art is free to ricochet back and forth between them like a pinball machine. Russell directs his crackerjack cast at top speed and they all perform with buoyant conviction and pure comic energy that is delicious to watch. This is Law's best performance so far, stunning in its fearlessness and control of tone. He keeps Brad a character and not a caricature, when he is at his most charming and when he begins to unravel.

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Parents and kids say

All Reviews

There are 3 reviews.

1

Posted on 06/13/07 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 15

To be blunt, this movie was terrible. My mom and I lost several brain cells in the process of watching this. The sex scene was vulgar, as was the obnoxious overuse of the F word. We turned it off before it was even finished.
4

Posted on 12/07/05 by Anonymous Adult contributor

4

Posted on 11/02/05 by Anonymous Adult contributor

Adult Reviews

There are 2 reviews.

4

Posted on 12/07/05 by Anonymous Adult contributor

4

Posted on 11/02/05 by Anonymous Adult contributor

Kids Reviews

There are 1 reviews.

1

Posted on 06/13/07 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 15

To be blunt, this movie was terrible. My mom and I lost several brain cells in the process of watching this. The sex scene was vulgar, as was the obnoxious overuse of the F word. We turned it off before it was even finished.
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