In case you missed it … ‘I [Heart] Huckabees’

Dawn Campbell: “You can’t deal with my infinite nature, can you?”
Brad Stand: “That is so not true. Wait … what does that even mean?”

This is just a tasty little morsel of the philosophically quirky humor that’s so brilliantly written with great abundance into I [Heart] Huckabees. The film is written and directed by David O. Russell and is easily one of my all-time favorite comedies. A comedy that’s way beyond what is normally considered, well … normal. The film has an incredible ensemble cast, including Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts, Jason Schwartzman and Isabelle Huppert.

Albert (Schwartzman) hires Bernard and Vivian (Hoffman & Tomlin), a pair of existentialist detectives, to investigate strange occurrences in his life. During their case they insist on spying on Albert’s every last moment and repeatedly offer enigmatic insights into their beliefs on nature, the universe and everything in general. During the investigation, Albert finds himself being intellectually seduced by rival philosopher Caterine (Huppert) who is like the dark side of the force to Bernard’s and Vivian’s Jedi code. Along the way, Caterine enlists the following of firefighter Tommy (Wahlberg). Brad (Law) is an aspiring executive with Huckabees, a retail giant with the slogan “The Everything Store.” He begins to lose his composure when his supermodel girlfriend Dawn (Watts) finds herself transformed into a raving philosophical free radical. Each of these character’s peculiar lives become intertwined.

This hypnotic comic farce pulls you in and doesn’t let go. I’ve seen this movie no less than 10 times and I’m probably greatly under-guessing. [I’m surprised I haven’t worn out my DVD yet.] Having dabbled meagerly in philosophy while in college, I found this film delightfully smart and funny. I, like most people, am in no way well-versed in the philosophical ramblings of our great thinkers … but, I understand and appreciate enough of it to enjoy Huckabees on a level that makes it just as enlightening as it is laughable. At one point, Brad asks the detectives “How am I not myself,” which perplexes Barnard and Vivian. In another scene, Albert and Tommy exchange welcome blows to each others’ faces with a large rubber ball, believing it brings them to a transcendental state of mental clarity. Its crazy scenes like this combined with references with actual philosophical, metaphysical and scientific concepts and theories and made Huckabees so enjoyable. If ever given the opportunity to teach, I would find some way to integrate this movie into my curriculum … albeit under the radar, I’m sure.