I Heart Huckabees (2004)

A husband-and-wife team play detective, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, the happy duo helps others solve their existential issues, the kind that keep you up at night, wondering what it all means.

Director:

David O. Russell

Writers:

David O. Russell, Jeff Baena

Stars:

Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Schwartzman	...	Albert Markovski
Isabelle Huppert	...	Caterine Vauban
Dustin Hoffman	...	Bernard
Lily Tomlin	...	Vivian
Jude Law	...	Brad Stand
Mark Wahlberg	...	Tommy Corn
Naomi Watts	...	Dawn Campbell
Angela Grillo	...	Angela Franco
Ger Duany	...	Mr. Stephen Nimieri
Darlene Hunt	...	Darlene
Kevin Dunn	...	Marty
Benny Hernandez	...	Davy
Richard Appel	...	Josh
Benjamin Nurick	...	Harrison
Jake Muxworthy	...	Tim

Storyline

Determined to solve the coincidence of seeing the same conspicuous stranger three times in a day, Albert hires a pair of existentialist detectives, who insist on spying on his everyday life while sharing their views on life and the nature of the universe.

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Plot Keywords:

coincidence | water skiing | model | meditation | fantasy sequence | 

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Taglines:

An existential comedy

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and a sex scene

Details

Official Sites:

Fox [es] Fox Searchlight [us]

Country:

USA UK Germany

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

22 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Love Huckabee's

Filming Locations:

777 S. Figueroa Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£155,592 (UK) (26 November 2004)

Gross:

$12,784,713 (USA) (18 February 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Qwerty Films, Kanzeon

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Typically, David O. Russell would let the cameras continue rolling after the end of each scene, urging the actors to goof around and improvise. He felt this was the best way for them to lose any sense of self-consciousness. Jude Law and Dustin Hoffman later told him that they found it a very liberating way to work.

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Goofs

After Caterine takes a Polaroid picture of Brad she holds the camera with her right hand. The next shot of her she has her arms crossed, and the shot after that she is holding the camera again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Albert Markovski: [Blurry shot of tree]
[Albert's thoughts are voiced aloud to us, but not the audience on camera]
Albert Markovski: Mother-fucking, cocksucker, mother-fucking, shit-fucker, what am I doing?
[Albert walks out from behind tree, towards camera. As he gets closer to the camera the scene comes into focus]
Albert Markovski: What am I doing? I don't know what I'm doing. I'm doing the best that I can. I know that's all I can ask of myself. Is that good enough? Is my work doing any good? Is anybody paying attention? Is it ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

"How am I not myself?"

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Connections

References The Mask (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Strangest Times"
Written by Jon Brion
Score material based on this and other songs

User Reviews

A beautiful mess

There is only one word I can use to describe this "existensial comedy" by David O. Russell: insane. Here is a comedy with no real rules. A sense of brilliant madness lurks within every scene. Emotions run wild, actions are poorly motivated, people have no idea just what the hell they are doing! This is to be said about certain characters played by Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, and Naomi Watts. These are characters who are in deep need of answers to their existence, and who are playing with ideas that they are not quite ready to tackle. But then you have Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, and Isabelle Huppert just kind of watching by the sidelines as the more experienced characters. By the end of the movie I couldn't help but think of how many other clients of theirs went through similar conflicts. That's the ultimate punchline. What a delight I Heart Huckabees is!

This is in no way at all your average comedy. Many philosophical theories are brought up throughout the film, but it's all done in a "fun" way. The film doesn't follow and preach any of the theories, only its characters do. I thought that was important because, well, that's what makes it so funny. It does not take itself seriously.

The acting is very...interesting. You have the younger actors like Wahlberg and Schwartzman really, really trying hard in hilariously over-the-top performances. To the exact opposite of that, you have Hoffman and Tomlin who don't even really try that hard at all. They don't have to. They're pros- actor wise and character wise. This imbalance in mood just adds and adds to the overflowing madness of I Heart Huckabees.

There is a lot of things wrong with the movie that seem to make it funnier and all the more enjoyable to watch. I had a smile on my face through the whole thing. I Heart Huckabees is indeed an acquired taste. People will love it, people will hate it, people will be totally indifferent to it, but I have no doubt that it will find its following.

My rating: 8/10