an existential comedy?

[miriam_e]

I just may have a new favorite movie: I ♥ Huckabees

Who would have thought that anybody could make a light, quirky comedy about the deepest philosophical questions? Is there any meaning to existence? What is infinity? Is everything interconnected? What is the nature of good and evil? What should we do about it?

The weirdest thing is that it does so without attempting any spirituality or appeal to shonky religious dogma or pretentiousness, while being buoyed up all the way through with light-hearted whimsy.

What a lovely piece of work.

(If you get the DVD make sure you listen to the director's commentary for further insights. It's worth it.)

Comments

[flemco.livejournal.com]

Wow.

I am completely, utterly, without qualm totally in disagreement with you. That movie was one of the biggest pieces of shit I've ever wasted my time on.

What exactly made you laugh?

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

More chuckle than laugh. (I disagree with the comment on the cover that it is "laugh-out-loud funny.)

What made me love it is the way they represent the "deep" questions. Using Dustin Hoffman's and Lily Tomlin's characters as good, love, and hope, and using Isabelle Huppert's character as meaninglessness, cynicism, and destruction is so neat. And they do it without metaphysical pretentiousness. I like how the hero is not just a guy in search of answers, but is a bit of a klutz who stumbles ineptly through things. What makes him the hero is that he is genuinely trying to do the right thing, and that he kinda puts it all together in the end.

I like how even the people closest to being villains are not really bad, just misguided. I like how there is no simple black and white, that it is not simple gratification, but it actually offers some genuine signposts to help make the world better, without trying for potted answers.

It is refreshing.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I agree with you.
I feel asleep.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Er... fell asleep.

don't listen to them-they didn't get it

[amberite2112.livejournal.com]

i waited a long time before seeing this jewel, mostly because of the hype. i finally broke down because of Lily and Dustin. i was not disappointed, only sorry i'd waited so long.

there is so much good stuff in that movie!

dustin's everything blanket was the best visual for what an ex of mine was trying to tell me years ago - EveryThing IS EveryThing.


"should i bring my own chains?"

"we always do."
so perfect!

i think it would make a fantastic double bill with "what the bleep do we know". between those two movies, at least one life could be changed.

Re: don't listen to them-they didn't get it

[belegdel.livejournal.com]

what the bleep do we know

Yeesh. I'm ashamed to admit I watched that rubbish.

It starts off well enough but rapidly decends into the ranting of a new-ager cult. The science in it starts off speculative and progresses through crackpot to end up somewhere in the vicinity of total fantasy.

The Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_the_Bleep_Do_We_Know!%3F) on the film is a worthwhile read.

If the film mentioned here is anything like "...Bleep...", I'll run, not walk, in any other direction.

Re: don't listen to them-they didn't get it

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I'll let you know what I think when I get to it. It worries me that the science might be suspect though, because I consider myself a science geek.

Don't worry, Huckabees doesn't have any bad science. It is an exercise in philosophy, but without pretension -- a very unusual thing to do, and precisely what I love about it. Philosophy should be fun.

Re: don't listen to them-they didn't get it

[belegdel.livejournal.com]

Philosophy should be fun

Heh. I started a Grad. Dip. in Philosophy once. It was so dry, humourless and BORING that I dropped out. It sucked all the fun out of life.

Re: don't listen to them-they didn't get it

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen "What The Bleep Do We Know". Another one to go onto my list. Thanks. :)

There are a lot of cool things about Huckabees. My eyes kept going to Lily Tomlin in every scene she shared. She is somehow able to hold a scene while seeming to do very little.

But it is the writers who really make this a cool movie. How do you write a piece about the really, truly deep issues, yet make it lightweight and fun. I am in awe of people who can pull that kind of thing off.