- Story -
This movie is particularly strange and peculiar and so I found it hard to follow the story but from what I could follow, the movie is about a pair of whats called existential detectives (like philosophers) who give their opinions about life and the great beyond to a man called Albert ... Read review
Billed as "an existential comedy,"I Heart Huckabeesis a flawed yet endearingly audacious ... more
screwball romp that dares to ponder life's biggest questions. Much of director David O. Russell's philosophical humor is dense, talky, and impenetrable, leading cr...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin lead an all-star cast in this mischievous comedy from the ... more
director of Flirting with Disaster and Three Kings, David O. Russell. A married pair of detectives (Hoffman and Tomlin), unlike any other, are hired to investigate...
Billed as "an existential comedy,"I Heart Huckabeesis a flawed yet endearingly audacious ... more
screwball romp that dares to ponder life's biggest questions. Much of director David O. Russell's philosophical humor is dense, talky, and impenetrable, leading cr...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Convinced that a series of coincidences involving a doorman hold some secret to life's ... more
largest riddles Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) seeks the help of a detective agency unlike any other . . . which leads him down a path that questions the esse...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Sideways:Nominated for five Academy Awards (including Best Picture), this intoxicating, ... more
intelligent comedy from Director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) serves up one of the best reviewed films of the year about the ups, downs and sideways journeys of life. A wine-tasting road trip through California's Central Coast takes an unexpected detour as Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), two 30 somethings mature along the way. The comically mismatched pair soon find themselves drowning in wine, women... and laughter!I Heart Huckabees:An exuberant offbeat comedy in which Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin play detectives hired by kindhearted local poet and activist Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) to investigate the meaning of three coincidences that could hold the key to life. The investigation soon involves other clients such as passionate, vulnerable fireman Tom Corn (Mark Wahlberg), cunning sales exec Brad Stand (Jude Law) and hot spokesmodel with an identity crisis Dawn Campbell (Naomi Watts). The hilarious case is further complicated when the detectives' seductive French nemesis Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert) lures Albert and Tom into her way of seeing things.
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Gareth Carrivick - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Kathryn Drysdale, Sheridan Smith, Natalie Casey, Will Mellor, Ralf Little
Advantages: Good cast/performances, interesting concept Disadvantages: I found it hard to follow and quite confusing, you need your thinking cap for this one
...strange and peculiar and so I found it hard to follow the story but from what I could follow, the movie is about a pair of whats called existential detectives (like philosophers) who give their opinions about life and the great beyond to a man called Albert whos left wanting to find out the significance after what seems like a coincidence, when he realises that he's seen the same stranger three times in one day.
- Thoughts/Opinions/Extra ... ...very strange movie lol and I do like to watch some quirky movies once in a while but this is probably one of the most random/quirky ones ive seen. I found it quite hard to keep track of what was going on, so its definitely not a movie to watch if your looking for some light hearted movie! its very philosophical but very quirky too and it has some witty comedic moments.
I wasn't sure quite what to think of it because the it seemed so ... more
- Story -
This movie is particularly strange and peculiar and so I found it hard to follow the story but from what I could follow, the movie is about a pair of whats called existential detectives (like philosophers) who give their opinions about life and the great beyond to a man called Albert whos left wanting to find out the significance after what seems like a coincidence, when he realises that he's seen the same stranger three times in one day.
- Thoughts/Opinions/Extra Info. -
This is, as I say, a very strange movie lol and I do like to watch some quirky movies once in a while but this is probably one of the most random/quirky ones ive seen. I found it quite hard to keep track of what was going on, so its definitely not a movie to watch if your looking for some light hearted movie! its very philosophical but very quirky too and it has some witty comedic moments.
I wasn't sure quite what to think of it because the it seemed so disjointed, it was hard to follow, the characters were interesting though and there were some funny moments if you catch the right dialogue I think. Some of the visuals were good, there are scenes where your shown what the detectives are describing, where you see the face broken up into lots of different squares floating around (in that way its quite a trippy sort of a movie!). Alot of the movie centers around the department store called Huckabees, where Albert works and some of the people who work there and a project involving open spaces and Shania Twain(!), whereby Albert is fighting for a new branch of Huckabees to not be allowed to open, to save the land. There are two main characters (apart from the two detectives), Albert and Tommy, both of whom are on their own 'voyage of discovery' so to speak.
The movie features a decent cast, with Dustin Hoffman playing one of the existential detectives, as well as Jude Law playing the rival marketing executive Brad Stand, Mark Wahlberg as Tommy and Naomi Watts who plays Brads partner, Dawn. You get the feeling that the cast are quite keen on the movie through the performances they give and again the CGI adds depth to the movie but I couldn't help but feel somewhat lost and confused throughout it all the same, I almost felt as if I'd need to be taking something to get the full effect of it or to think it made perfect sense! I guess it would be wrong of me to say its a useless, pointless movie because of that, I am someone who can be easily distracted or otherwise find it difficult to follow movies at times, that much is true and I knew this was quite a quirky, cult type movie, so I shouldn't have been surprised and I don't think I was as such, just bare it in mind. Also worth knowing is that there is a fair amount of strong language used in the movie, from the very start as I believe the first scene features the main character swearing quite heavily and repeatedly to himself, which will have had a bearing on the films 15 rating. That and there is a sex scene present, which is somewhat but not totally graphic, if you know what I mean. I certainly wouldn't recommend this movie as a completely serious introduction to philosophy, thats for sure!
This is the sort of movie that will leave you wondering if you missed out on something critical that would have explained more to you, your left confused and curious and it certainly isn't an all out comedy, laughter fest by any means, yet there are some solid performances from Hoffman and Schwartzman (Jason Schwartzman plays the main character Albert) and its certainly not a movie that suffers from being too predictable, if anything its perhaps too unpredictable.
This may be a movie where, if its right for you and you feel particularly interested in the themes it presents, then having watched it the first time you may be compelled to watch it again later and look out for the smaller details that you missed the first time around, I suppose it could be one of 'those' kind of movies, although I can't really see me doing that myself.
Overall I'd say that this is a very quirky and peculiar movie that is somewhat complicated and confusing and makes you wonder, with some good performances, its ok for what it is but it was a bit too much for me personally and afterwards I was left wondering 'what was that all about?'. Judge for yourself whether this is your cup of tea... to be honest this is about all I could think to say about this particular movie, I found it harder to think how to review this one but I hope my review helps all the same and thanks, of course, for any and all r/r/c's. This review may also be posted by me on Dooyoo UK under the same username.
Advantages: Highly intellegent, very funny, and very charming Disadvantages: Not many.... but may go over some peoples heads.
...O. Russell is awesome (yes I am a fan) not only is he extremely talented but I'm quite sure he could make pretty much any idea into an entertaining movie if he tried. Not only is his sense of humour supremely balanced but he isn't afraid to take risks about where he places it. All his movies are incredibly funny and thoughtful but THREE KINGS was particularly effective with its mix of humour and drama set in the midst of the end of the gulf war. ... ...I HEART HUCKBAEES is a movie that's incredibly hard to describe as its part screwball comedy and part existential drama and it actually works well as both. Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) is an activist and poet who after seeing the same tall African man on three separate occasions feels the coincidence meaningful enough to seek out a duo of existential detectives (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin). This sets off a series of events that intertwines ...
moxon123 02.02.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of I Heart Huckabees (DVD)
Advantages: Odd, quirky, funny and for the enviroment! Disadvantages: Maybe be too quirky for some
I Heart Huckabees is possibly the oddest, craziest most offbeat film that you are ever likely to see. It is advertised as an ‘Existentialist Comedy’; whatever that is supposed to mean! A comedy it certainly is, the script is just packed with superb lines, wonderfully weird characters and decidedly offbeat situations. There are so many wonderful quotes I would love to pepper this review with but to do so could only ruin them for anyone who sees the ... ...a lot into this, and I would guess that a lot if it is close to his heart. Huckabees contains conflicting theories on existentialism (I guess, it was over my head!), statements on the environment, corporate greed and the ever-growing consumer society and even about the banality of everyday life and how it can grind you down being someone you’re not because you have to be to fit in (something I certainly don’t agree with!)
But as much as there are ...
Ailran 28.12.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of I Heart Huckabees (DVD)
Advantages: Great performances, the writers know what they're talking about Disadvantages: Will leave all but philosophy students bewildered
...an existential farce in Hollywood? I can only imagine the bewildered executives listening to the pitch for a story about existentialism versus nihilism that incorporates aspects of farce, slapstick, gross-out humour, one-liners and debates on the nature of reality. The result is a dense but enjoyable film that showcases great performances from top-drawer actors in a cinematic primer to the schools of existentialism (where everything and everyone ... ...the camera shouting “Look what I can do!”, but Russell’s ebullience normally carries it. The cinematography is crisp and colourful, but never distracts from the actors or their near-unintelligible ramblings.
The ensemble performances are note-perfect. Jason Schwartzman continues his run of roles as the quirky loner, Jude Law is slimy as marketing exec Brad Stand (but he still needs to work on his American accent), Lily Tomlin is forthright as existential ...
afy9mab 18.12.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of I Heart Huckabees (DVD)
Advantages: A bit wierd, and a good cast Disadvantages: A bit wierd, not as funny as it could have been
...even heard of Huckleberry Hound, I wonder - anyway, no-o. That's not what Huckabees are.
Well, OK, I've seen the movie - I should be able to tell you.
Huckababes is a firm, They produce adverts, featuring a model.
One thing you should know - the title of the film is NOT "I love huckabees" It's "I Heart Huckabees" - and, of course the heart should be a heart symbol, rather than the spelled-out word.
It's been described as a "bizarre anti-corporate ... ...all too much.
If I described it as like "Being John Malkovich" or "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind", or "The Royal Tanenbaums" but with far worse quality film - so off the wall that's there's really not much point my telling you what the story might be - because it's the style of the movie that matters most.
There's a good cast - Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Naomi Campbell, Mark Wahlberg, Isabelle Huppert.
There's ...
radamson 14.06.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of I Heart Huckabees (DVD)
Advantages: Thought provoking, quirky Disadvantages: Not as funny as its made out to be
...a good few years ago. I Heart Huckabees is not at all what I expected it to be, although I did still enjoy it. Personally, i dont remember much advertising for the film when it was released in 2004, but from the DVD cover and summary I thought it would be a light-hearted comedy, similar to a "chick-flick",. The plot revolves around a man named Albert, a nature lover who is trying to stop the development of another chain store opening named Huckabees. ... ...on entertaining philosophical ideas, so i wouldnt recommend it if you have no interest in philosophy or questioning things. Some do argue that the film "dumbs down" existentialism, though, so that could be as equally offputting if you ARE very knowlegable about the topic. As someone who is quite interested, but not wholly knowledgable about it all, I did quite enjoy exploring the different approaches. Some good points about the film - good cast, ...
tracy112 06.05.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of I Heart Huckabees (DVD)
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
How does it compare to ...
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "I Heart Huckabees (DVD)"
Advantages: Thouroughly Enjoyable in every way Disadvantages: Made me cry
I cannot believe no-body has reviewed this yet, It will be a great honour to review it first. Here we go....
I decided to rent a couple of DVD's last night and thought I would grab two that caught my eye. The other one was called I "HEART" Huckabees (But thats a completely different review), and I also picked up this one called "Inside I'm Dancing".
I mainly picked it up because it was British made and I'm always willing to try them out and have found them to be a lot more entertaining that the typical american film with special effects and loud noises (That might just me though).
The Film itself was wonderful! I enjoyed it from start to finish and made me laugh out loud a lot! and cry.
I'm not into giving the whole storyline away but it is about two young gentlemen who are in wheelchairs, who strike up an unlikley ...
David O. Russell, the director of dark incest comedy SPANKING THE MONKEY, slapstick ensemble FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, and Gulf War adventure THE THREE KINGS; established himself as a boldly original filmmaker. With his fourth film, I HEART HUCKABEES, Russell continues to defy easy definition, mixing physical comedy, existential philosophy, corporate satire, and quixotic quest. Jason Schwartzman, proving that he is capable of more than simply reviving his iconic RUSHMORE character, plays Albert, an environmental activist prone to bad poetry and self-doubt. During his campaign to stop Huckabees, a suburban superstore, from destroying marshland, Albert's group is taken over by one of the store's vapidly charming salesmen, a pitch-perfect Jude Law. Utterly distraught and questioning the meaning of life, Albert seeks the help of a bizarre husband-and-wife team of 'existential detectives'. By spying on Albert's daily life, they seek to help him answer that most elemental of human questions, 'Why am I here
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Deluxe Video Service - Fox
Audio Commentaries, I Heart Huckabees Production Documentary, Deleted And Extended Scenes, Outtakes, Miscellaneous Things People Did Featurette, Music Video Knock Yourself Out By Jon Brion, Inside Look Behind The Scenes
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
The brilliant work of a mad genius (Esquire, )
By far the most original comedy of the year (Premiere, )
One of the smartest, funniest movies imaginable. Essential viewing. (Total Film, )
DVD Description
David O. Russell, the director of dark incest comedy SPANKING THE MONKEY, slapstick ensemble FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, and Gulf War adventure THE THREE KINGS; established himself as a boldly original filmmaker. With his fourth film, I HEART HUCKABEES, Russell continues to defy easy definition, mixing physical comedy, existential philosophy, corporate satire, and quixotic quest. Jason Schwartzman, proving that he is capable of more than simply reviving his iconic RUSHMORE character, plays Albert, an environmental activist prone to bad poetry and self-doubt. During his campaign to stop Huckabees, a suburban superstore, from destroying marshland, Albert's group is taken over by one of the store's vapidly charming salesmen, a pitch-perfect Jude Law. Utterly distraught and questioning the meaning of life, Albert seeks the help of a bizarre husband-and-wife team of 'existential detectives'. By spying on Albert's daily life, they seek to help him answer that most elemental of human questions, 'Why am I here
Compare I Heart Huckabees (DVD) to other similar Comedy »