I Heart Huckabees (7/10)
David O. Russel walks a dangerous line between the quirky and the ridiculous in his latest film, I Heart Huckabees. Oddly enough, this is not where the flaws of the film lie -- I Heart Huckabees is bizarre, surprising and challenging without losing all senses. I do have a high tolerance for absurdity -- being a fan of Mulholland Drive -- but I never found this film to be as disconnected and unpenetrable as critics have.
No, the problem actually lies in the struggle between the quirky and the banal. Quirkiness is usually used by directors to disguise true feelings and philosophical musings that would otherwise be sentimental. And though Huckabees has its share of brilliant quirkiness -- a dinner scene comes immediately to mind -- it also deeps into convenient banality, as in a career-killing meeting scene. It is frustrating to see a film with as awesome a concept as "existential detectives" to move into these easy, sentimental scenes, and I just had to shake my head and dock a few points.
Still, it is a fun and funny film. Highly recommended.
Best of 2004:
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- The Incredibles -- 10
- Eternal Sunshine -- 9
- Dogville -- 9
- Kill Bill: Volume 2 -- 8
- Spiderman 2 -- 8
- Harry Potter 3 -- 7
- I Heart Huckabees -- 7
- Collateral -- 7
- Fahrenheit 9/11 -- 7
- Shrek 2 -- 7
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