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

Richard Jenkins filmed his scenes in just 2 days.

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Goofs

Towards the end when Albert tells the man in a white suit to treat his bike like a car before rushing in the building, the bike is first facing opposite directions in the two shots of it.

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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

Referenced in Team America: World Police (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Revolving Door"
Written by Jon Brion
Score material based on this and other songs

User Reviews

A Existential Trip Through Life

Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman - Rushmore) is an urban guerrilla. A freedom fighter against Urban Sprawl and Corporate-sponsored Over-Development. At least this is how he likes to think of himself. In reality he's a self-obsessed insecure neurotic, and his environmental action group 'Open Spaces' is having little success in the face of their nemesis, the Huckabees corporation. That is until Brad Stand (Jude Law) steps in. As the caring face of Huckabees he sets up a co-operative group with 'Open Spaces' and shows that corporate entities and environmental groups can work together for the good of the community.

Again, that's how Brad likes to think of his work but he's not a happy man. His mental wellbeing is unravelling, his home life is not good, and his work is beginning to suffer. His wife is Dawn Campbell (Naomi Watts - Mulholland Drive), she is the gorgeous face, body and voice of the Huckabees corporation. That is until she discovers that life is meaningless, we are all simply atoms caught up in a never-ending cycle, and identity is an illusion.

She discovers this through the work of Bernard (Dustin Hoffman) and Vivian (Lily Tomlin), a husband and wife existential detective agency. They are hired by Albert to investigate why he feels so empty in his life, and to answer his number one question - what is the meaning of life. They observe him 24 hours a day and investigate all other relationships in his life. This leads them to Dawn, who starts wearing dungarees and a babies bonnet after their "treatment".

Meanwhile Tommy Corn (Mark Wahlberg - Boogie Nights) is a client of Bernard's and Vivian's agency. He is going through a crisis. An ex-pupil of Bernard and Vivian's, a Russian Nihilist Existentialist called Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert) has sent him her book, on why Nihilism holds the answers he seeks. He comes to believe this is correct and Bernard and Vivian believe he needs the help of an "existential partner" and introduces him to Albert. He try's to convince Albert Nihilism is the way forward, but Albert falls in love with Caterine and finds out it isn't.

Being billed as an "Existential Comedy" I've been meaning to see 'I Heart Huckabees since it was originally released about 6 months ago, but never got round to it. Totally kicking myself now cause it was absolutely superb. Awesome soundtrack, inventive and original cinematography, some amazing performances and most importantly a great story. Directed and co-written by David O. Russell (along with Jeff Baena) who last gave us 'Three Kings', the well-received anti-war comedy drama set in the first Iraq war. I personally didn't think 'Three Kings' lived up to the hype, an enjoyable film sure, but not particularly ground breaking or terribly thought provoking.

'I Heart Huckabees' blows 'Three Kings' away, the dialogue has so many levels it's hard to peel them away, but as Bernard teaches "it's all connected". The soundtrack is from the always-awesome Jon Brion who has given us the great music to some of the best films of recent years such as 'Magnolia', 'Punch Drunk Love' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. The performances are powerhouses, Law and Watts both standing out as two of the finest young actors in the world today. Watts steals the show thought, surpassing her turn in one of my all-time faves, 'Mulholland Drive'. The film's main theme is one of anti-corporatism, but it isn't so pervasive as to effect the overall upbeat feeling of enlightenment and acceptance the film immerses us in.

The best part of the film for me was the inventive use of the visuals to perfectly illustrate scientific and philosophical ideas. It's pure eye candy, sections of the film peeling away, mixing with other areas of the screen to form new pictures, showing us how everything can be deconstructed. We are all the same. It's all just atoms, identity is an illusion, we are all connected.

'I Heart Huckabees' is released on DVD in the UK today.