Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin
A husband-and-wife team play detective, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, the happy duo helps others solve their existential issues, the kind that keep you up at night, wondering what it all ...( read more
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DVD Release Date: February 22, 2005
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Stats: 11,247 reviews
Flixster Reviews (11,247)
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September 2, 2009I think a lot of people are incorrect when they refer to David O. Russell as a genius. He's not. He's a very capable film maker but there is no hidden meaning to this film, no multi-layers, its just silly, funny and just a little bit baffling. I think its great fun! I once watche...( read more)
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August 27, 2009Two private eyes that help people "find themselves", are hired by an environmentalist to make sense of his own life. Unqualified disaster of a film feels like an acting exercise in search of a coherent plot. Muddled comedy is dull, meandering and disorganized. A staggering was...( read more)
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August 22, 2009Seeing the number of good actors in this, you'd think it would be a good movie. It was not.
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April 4, 2009Would-be eco warrior Jason Schwartzman approaches an existential detective agency to solve his life crisis and meets a series of odd balls on a journey of self discovery. David O. Russell's surreal comedy certainly has a very impressive cast, and its attempt at mocking society's ...( read more)
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October 29, 2008Albert Markovski: Everything is the same, even if it's different.
To be honest, I didn't quite get the main idea of the film, all the philosophy and existentialism stuff, probably because I slept my way through Philosophy class but I'm giving this a high rating because ...( read more) -
November 15, 2009Horrible, just horrible. One of the worst movies I have seen in a while. I would expect more from such a star studded cast. It is truly a two hour long slap in the face.
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October 26, 2009this movie was extremely bizarre
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SO. we're watching this in english class right now and i am enjoying it a lot more than i did last time! so, rating change. though, we're not done with it yet so...could change again? WHO KNOWS.
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yeah, i'm going to go with a 3. -
October 22, 2009Not a film that everyone will enjoy, with all of the philosophical and existentialism talk, but I def loved it. Great cast, including the always awesome Jason Schwartzman and Dustin Hoffman, help to bring to life this amazing script, which could have made for a very dry film had...( read more)
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October 7, 2009This is perhaps one of the best films that I have ever seen. It's blend of subtle comedy and Kafka existentialism. The acting is superb. Again with very subtle juxtapositions or the actors traditional roles. The movie could be a little confusing for those that are not familiar wi...( read more)
Critic Reviews
May 4, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
October 8, 2004
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
There's ambition here, as well as a shaggy brilliance and a rare willingness on the part of a director to work out his questions in front of us, on film. full review
October 8, 2004
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
I don't quite know what the point of it all was, but I do know that I enjoyed watching it. full review
October 8, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The movie is like an infernal machine that consumes all of the energy it generates, saving the last watt of current to turn itself off. It functions perfectly within its constraints, but it leaves the... full review
October 1, 2004
David Edelstein, Slate
The movie fails, I'm convinced, because it approaches the problem philosophically instead of psychologically. full review
October 1, 2004
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
Russell wants us to care about these deeper meanings, but he can't lead us to see them for ourselves. full review
September 30, 2004
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com
An encouraging push in the right direction for cinema which can be equally absorbing and entertaining. full review
September 30, 2004
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Russell is a true original. It's not in his DNA to play it safe. He's a rebel Pied Piper, and Huckabees is one more reason to follow him anywhere. full review
September 30, 2004
Claudia Puig, USA Today
If it had the unwavering focus and clear-eyed vision of Russell's previous two features, I Heart Huckabees might have been brilliant. full review
Comments
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July 7, 2007The thing with this movie is that no one should dare to consider it an explanation of existentialist philosophy. If you want to learn philosophy, buy a book. If you don't want to, or hate people that love philosophy, then you should steer away from movies labeled as bloody existentialist comedies.
Because the genius in here is that it's pastiche comedy ABOUT philosophy, philosophers and the difference between existentialist ideas and the actual reality of the world.
Of course, it all sounds very weird, but if you like your philosophy funny, then watch it. -
March 30, 2007This film and a lot of its fans are intellectual fascism incarnate. "You have to have a cerebellum to understand this"? A keg of absynthe and some non-prescription drugs, more like.
Nothing film-wise is as irritating as the pompous refusal to make sense. This nonsense boasts a lot of long words and, you guessed it, is ultimately meaningless. Who didn't see that coming? And the introduction of a main character halfway, not to mention the pseudo-forgetting of several others, is just clumsy.
Almost as pointlessly revered as Donnie Darko, this is a dreg of cult cinema: championed endlessly, even when you calmly explain why it's rotten. "You just don't get it" is a very, very hollow defence.
Whatever. Happy smoking. -
July 3, 2006By far one of my favorite movies. Makes you think more about life, what you care about now and what you should cae about. Brilliantly written and a star cast to boot. I heart I HEART HUCKABEES! haha that was corney
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