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

[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.