Critic [hearts] ‘Huckabees’

Evan Marmol

“I [Heart] Huckabees” addresses the human condition in a

nuance-addled, satirical approach that is irrepressibly delirious and

endearing.

The film endeavors into the disingenuous expression and painful

soul searching of a motley cast living divergent lifestyles, and how

they all suffer undeniable commonalities.

Jason Schwartzman portrays a quixotic activist in search for a

meaning of his coincidental meetings with a Sudanese man. Bewildered

by these chance encounters, he searches for help from existential

detectives. Yes, existential detectives, played by none other than

Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman. These two quirky, new-age theorist

postulate that a bed-sheet is emblematic of the social fabric of the

universe, and that all of humanity exists in a cohesive, inextricable

union. The foregoing is not the gist of this convoluted and

hysterical flick; it delves far deeper into a mockery of new-age

mysticism and of experimental quantum physics.

Hoffman and Tomlin’s characters enlist people into an invasive

irrevocable agreement to allow them to vet their lives and ostensibly

to help them. They are a type of holistic detectives that act as

voyeurs, intrusively scrutinizing everyone’s actions and questioning

everything. The hilarious truth is that they have no answers beyond

the bed-sheet metaphor, which the star-studded cast cleaves to

mindlessly.

The all-star cast also includes the debonair Jude Law, Mark

Wahlberg, as a post-traumatic stress syndrome plagued Sept. 11

survivor, and other equally entertaining players, in a film that

never ceases to entertain. They introduce a film that combines the

scatological elements, and depth, seamlessly.

This is a film that is zany, thought provoking, smart, hip and all

with an unparalleled stylistic verve. It fits no genre or accepted

category. This is the type of self-sustaining movie that transcends

normality and really captures its audience.

* EVAN MARMOL is Laguna Beach resident. He graduated from UC

Irvine with a degree in psychology and social behavior. He can be

reached at [email protected].