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Days consist of a wide variety of coincidences and planned behaviors that make up existence as it is known. Coincidences affect individual presence in the now, as society seeks a symbiotic connection with existence. Activities and behaviors that form under habits and conscious decision-making often are a link reached from self toward society where self generates its own coincidences for other entities. These connections between the individual and society are lost in a myriad of variably meaningful coincidences that most people let slide by, as more significant happenings occur due to choice or are forced upon the individual. I Heart Huckabees depicts what could happen if existential detectives would investigate one of these coincidences. ***

Grass root level philosophy in regards to existentialism is brought to the audience’s attention through Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) who constantly ponders the incidents happening in his life. Albert, an environmentalist, frequently writes poetry and seeks to save the marshland where Huckabees plans on building a mall. At the same time Albert seeks the help of two existential detectives, Vivian (Lily Tomlin) and Bernard (Dustin Hoffman), to find out about one of his coincidences with a tall African-American man that he has bumped into three times. Bernard gives Albert a lesson in the universe and how everything in the universe is interconnected through a blanket, which in itself is a hilarious scene. Through the philosophical concept that everything is connected, Vivian and Bernard begin their investigation of Albert’s existence, which by the way is done pro-bono. ***

Albert’s investigation of his own existence leads him to meet other people while he attempts to finds out why some people have a meaning to his life. Some of these people are Tommy (Mark Wahlberg), Brad (Jude Law), and Dawn (Naomi Watts) who all have a strong influence in his life. Tom is a firefighter that has recently broken up his relationship with his wife, as she did not understand his preoccupation of pondering the troubles of the world. Through work Albert meets Brad, a climbing and smooth talking businessman for Huckabees, who rubs him the wrong way with his flashy style. Brad’s fiancée, Dawn, appears in Albert’s dreams and visions, as he tries to figure out why the tall black man has emerged in his life. These people seem to hold the secret to his coincidences, which he slowly begins to loose interest in as the big picture becomes more interesting. The big picture is a comprehensive view of Albert’s own life, which has led him to the situations where the coincidences occurred. ***

I Heart Huckabees does not converge as most films do, instead it seems fragmented and jolted. The fragmentation of the story seems to rest with the philosophical notions that are introduced to the audience. There are actually two different, yet similar, thoughts presented through the characters. The existential philosophy, at first, appears to be lucid, but it is far from clear or coherent as the story unfolds. Albert’s meeting with Tommy and later Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert) drifts off into a cerebral rambling where thoughts are diffused and notions dissected. These thoughts then again joint into unity that continues to be shattered and rejoins over and over again, which gives the idea that everything is connected and disjointed as the same time. This leaves the viewers with a satirical take on how a mind might diverge in several different directions interchangeably while eventually settling on one thing that does not make any sense to others. ***

I Heart Huckabees is similar to a lot of Spike Jonze films such as Being John Malkovich (1999) and Adaptation (2002). However, this film does not reach the same seriousness on a cerebral level, but it still offers an amusing comedy with heavy doses of irony. The amazing cast elevates the film with witty jokes, and funny one-liners. This is all thanks to the director David O. Russell who in the end brings together a funny script through good filmmaking and daringly taking some good chances. Ultimately, the bravery pays off with a mind-boggling comedy that brings the audience there, here, and everywhere through many bellyaching coincidences. *** ---

The dual-sided single-layered DVD is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with a pan and scan version on the flipside. The image is a little too soft on occasion while it is sharp and clean most of the time. There is slight edge enhancement in some scenes, but one really has to look for it in order to notice it. The colors also appear to be slightly washed out, but it does not affect the film’s value. Otherwise there was no detection of other visual flaws on this DVD. ***

The sound is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 on the English language track, while the Spanish and French language track is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. The film does not use much of the rear speakers on the English language track, which almost only brings the sound to the audience through the front speakers. Generally the sound is clean and crisp without distortion or hiss. *** ---

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