# I Heart Huckabees (Existential Comedy)



## Daniel (Sep 20, 2004)

On October 1st, the comedy film "I Heart Huckabees" will be released to "select" theaters.    The film centers around two detectives who find meaning in life for their clients. I am looking forward to watching it since critics are already saying it is excellent comedy.   

More info:


> This ensemble comedy is about a married couple, the Jaffes (Hoffman, Tomlin), who work as detectives, helping people solve existential crises in their lives. For those not familiar with the philosophy-based term of "existential crisis", some examples of such a crises would be a "mid-life crisis", a "what am I doing with my life?" sort of hang up, "my life has been a mistake", "my whole life is a joke", etc. Their first client in this movie is Albert Markovski (Schwartzman), who is experiencing angst because of his position at Huckabee's, a popular chain of retail stores. Investigating his workplace, the Jaffes take on one of Albert's coworkers, Brad Stand (Law) as a client as well, which leads them to investigate his girlfriend, Dawn Campbell (Watts), who is the spokesmodel in the Huckabees TV commercials. Meanwhile, Albert teams up with an existential firefighter (Wahlberg) and a French radical (Huppert) out of frustration with the idea that the Jaffes are helping the very man who seems to be part of Albert's existential crisis.
> http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1808471272&cf=info


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## Daniel (Jun 9, 2005)

I saw this movie on DVD a month ago.  It was great and much better than I expected after reading critical reviews.   A couple points made by the movie:

- Meditation as "dismantling":  Dustin Hoffman's character is an existential detective who encourages his patients to "dismantle" (meditiate) every day.    He teaches each client to meditate by making sure they can't see and telling them to let go of their identity, including what country they are from, what economy they are living in, etc.  (Hoffman's character recommends an eye mask or simply closing one's eyes for mediting at home.)

- The theme of the movie is: "No magic, no manure."   The protagonist in the movie, Hoffman's character, is like a zen monk and emphasizes that everything is meaningful and interconnected.  The antagonist in the movie is a French nihilist who sees life as a meaningless hell.   According to the movie, both positions on the meaning of life play on each other and are two sides of the same coin.  In the original script, the back story of the movie is that Hoffman's character and the female French existentialist used to have some relationship in the past.

Comedy-wise, the movie is pretty funny with great actors like Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, and Mark Wahlberg, who plays a depressed fireman that isn't interested in extinguishing fires.


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## HA (Jun 9, 2005)

Thanks Daniel,

Now I have a movie lined up for my next movie night!

Cheers


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## just mary (Jun 11, 2005)

Thanks Daniel!

I've been wanting to see that movie but it kept slipping my mind since I didn't know too much about it.  I'll definitely be renting it soon.

Thanks again.


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## Daniel (Jun 13, 2005)

The movie is one of those love-it-or-hate-it films.  The plot is rather secondary to the movie except for seeing how the characters develop.   Some lines in the movie that are meant to be funny aren't, but there are some funny bits and it is funny to see how each side (the existential detectives and the French nihilist) takes themselves so seriously.   

An interview with Dustin Hoffman & Lilly Tomlin on some of the movie's ideas: 



> Let's get metaphysical
> Redlands Daily Facts, Los Angeles Newspaper Group
> 
> _Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin ponder life in L.A., the human condition and their quirky new movie_
> ...


Also, the movie's playful, mostly instrumental soundtrack is loved even by those who hate the movie.   Some lyrics from the soundtrack: 



> "Knock Yourself Out"
> by Jon Brion
> 
> It’s something unattainable
> ...





> "Get What It's About"
> by Jon Brion
> 
> I may be slower than some folks
> ...


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## hugsy (Jun 13, 2005)

i saw this movie when it first came out.  loved it.


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## just mary (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi Daniel,

I loved it, it was great fun.  I especially liked the scenes where the characters hit each other in the face with a large, red ball.  Great little flick, glad I saw it.

We're all looking for meaning.

M.


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## Daniel (Feb 5, 2020)

I Heart Huckabees (1/5) Movie CLIP - The Blanket Truth (2004) HD - YouTube


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## Daniel (Feb 5, 2020)

Dustin Hoffman's character (Bernard):  "You can relax because everything you could ever want or be, you already have and are."


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## Daniel (Apr 5, 2021)




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## Daniel (May 4, 2021)

I Heart Huckabees - Wikipedia
					







					en.wikipedia.org
				




The final idea came to Russell in a dream where "This female detective she was not following me for criminal reasons, but she was following me for spiritual and metaphysical reasons." Russell, who makes a habit of writing his dreams down, knew instantly upon reading his summary of the dream that this was the story he wanted to pursue.


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## Daniel (May 4, 2021)

Buried Treasures: I Heart Huckabees
					


Caemeron Crain explores David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabees and why this film deserves more attention than it received.





					25yearslatersite.com
				




_I Heart Huckabees_ is a strange little film. It seems to me that many didn’t quite know how to take it. I was drawn to it, personally, due to its philosophical themes (and its great cast), but have talked with others who study philosophy with whom it didn’t land. And, honestly, I don’t know that it did for me, either, the first time. But it stuck in my mind enough that I watched it again.

The thing is that, although the film plays with existentialism, it doesn’t feel that deep. This isn’t a film that calls out for thorough analysis, or might make you want to read Heidegger, so much as it is a comedy. And this is how it should be taken. I didn’t know quite what to make of it on my first viewing, but when I gave it a second—knowing what it was in a meaningful way—I found it to be absolutely hilarious in a distinctive way.

This isn’t the kind of comedy you get elsewhere. It is neither slapstick, nor the kind of humor that plays on awkwardness that has become so common. It is, fundamentally, a comedy about the human condition...


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## Daniel (May 4, 2021)

The movie is now free on Youtube (with ads):


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## David Baxter PhD (May 4, 2021)

Not available in this country.


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## Daniel (May 4, 2021)

#CanadianProblems


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## David Baxter PhD (May 4, 2021)




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## gooblax (May 5, 2021)

I decided to start watching it. Good to see that the first minute reflects my inner dialogue quite accurately when approaching a stressful situation.


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## David Baxter PhD (May 5, 2021)

Oh sure.... the Americans and Australians get to watch it... just not the Canadians.  

At least we have poutine.


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## Daniel (May 5, 2021)

Probably because Canadians are too busy living in the woods and whatnot


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