I Heart Huckabees

The one philosophy behind this existential screwball comedy is that there is no one philosophy. A satire of spiritual gurus, self-help, and other psychological gimmickry, I Heart Huckabees makes its point by being so esoteric and cerebrally akimbo that it will likely divide audiences between those who find its deliberately abstruse discombobulated style amusing and to the point, and those who find it just plain abstruse and discombobulated. Written and directed by darkly comical David O. Russell (Three Kings), the ensemble storyline whirlpools around 1) an unhinged and obsessive young environmentalist (deliciously eccentric Jason Schwartzman) trying to save open space from corporate development, 2) a slick executive (snake-oil-charming Jude Law) from Huckabees, the megastore chain that wants to build on said open space, and 3) the borderline-nutcase metaphysical detectives (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) they both hire hoping to straighten out their otherwise unrelated but equally unsatisfying lives. Also featuring pitch-perfect Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts, and Isabelle Huppert in pivotal roles, the film begins weird and gets weirder as Russell culls lightly ironic, against-type performances from his ingenious cast, and while the movie gets by more on idiosyncrasy than intelligence, those rolling with the dizzy punches and open-minded to absurdity are in for a freaky post-Freudian fun time. Recommended. [Note: Available in both single-disc ($27.98) and double-disc ($39.98) versions, DVD extras on the latter include audio commentaries (one by filmmaker David O. Russell; the other by Russell and costars Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, and Naomi Watts), a 35-minute production documentary, a 31-minute segment from The Charlie Rose Show featuring Russell and costars Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman, 22 extended/deleted scenes (51 min.), four segments of outtakes (3 min.), a five-minute montage of “Miscellaneous Things People Did,” nine segments of infomercials, commercials, and PSAs (including “K.K. Barrett: Production Designer” and “Mark Bridges: Costume Designer”), Jon Brion's “Knock Yourself Out” music video directed by Russell and featuring Wahlberg and Schwartzman, an 11-minute behind-the-scenes "making-of" the music video with optional commentary by Russell, a photo montage, a soundtrack spot, and trailers. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for one of 2004's quirkiest films.] (R. Blackwelder)