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I Heart Huckabees

You might have to watch I Heart Huckabees a few times to understand it, but it is very funny the first time around. A comedy steeped in philosophy, I Heart Huckabees is a very thoughtful film that has fun with the philosophy it is trying to express.

Jason Schwartzman plays Albert Markovski, the leader of an environmentalist group who writes poems to express his environmental agenda. He approaches the Jaffes, a pair of existential detectives, to solve a coincidence he has encountered: On three separate occasions, he has met a tall lanky African. The detectives begin their investigation, finding that Albert's true problem is more than just a coincidence. Brad, an executive at the department store chain, Huckabees, is everything Albert wants to be. He is also slowly taking over Open Spaces, the environmental group Albert created, by turning some of the lead members against him. With help from Tommy Corn, another client of the detectives, Albert slowly comes to terms with the world around him.

Simplified into a synopsis, I Heart Huckabees seems like a run-of-the-mill self-discovery story. Yet, incorporate the Jaffe detectives, played by Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin, and their philosophy that everything is connected. Add Caterine Vauban, a rival detective that claims that nothing is connected and everything is random and cruel. Tommy Corn believes her. He also has an unhealthy obsession with petroleum. Put Albert in the middle and you have a hilarious tug-of-war that leads to Albert developing a philosophy all his own. You can see where I Heart Huckabees can be confusing.

Yet, it isn't the understanding of the philosophies that matter, but the interactions they cause. Every character in I Heart Huckabees is a cartoon, a silly facsimile of reality. It makes it much easier to laugh at their sadness, for it seems that everyone of the Jaffes' clients are in pain. Even the dislikeable Brad, played by Jude Law, is hilarious and symphathetic by film's end. Yet, out of all the characters, Tommy Corn is the funniest. Mark Wahlberg is hysterical as the neurotic Tommy. Taking advantage of his tough guy persona, which worked to his advantage in The Departed, certainly works here.

I Heart Huckabees is a clever comedy that has very funny characters. The dialogue is witty and the story is enjoyable to watch. While not all the philosophy will be easy to follow, it is a great, smart comedy.

Written by: Manny Carrasco

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