by Frank Calvillo
When Ted was released, everyone was surprised at how writer/director/star Seth McFarlane’s buddy comedy became one of the monster hits of the 2012 summer movie season. According to Hollywood law, a sequel had to follow.
Reviews for Ted 2 have been mixed, yet I’m looking forward to watching Mark Wahlberg interact with a CGI-bear and laugh shamelessly at their various dirty, offensive antics.
One of the sheer pleasures of the first film, as well as hopefully its sequel, is the chance to see Wahlberg exercise his underused comedic talent. The actor has made a career out of playing tough guys who find themselves in intense situations. Wahlberg earned his share of laughs in the first film, despite appearing next to someone of McFarlane’s comedic prowess. However, in terms of comedy, nothing compares to his work in the decidedly out-of-the-box comedy I Heart Huckabees.
The brainchild of David O. Russell, I Heart Huckabees centers on a young man named Albert (Jason Schwartzman), who is undergoing an existential crisis of sorts which affects both his personal and professional lives. Desperate for answers to his current state, Albert enlists the help of Bernard and Vivian Jaffe (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin), a married couple who run an existential detective agency. Bernard and Vivian’s expertise lies in trailing clients dealing with problems such as Albert’s and uncovering the reasons behind their philosophical crossroads.
The couple begin following Albert in an effort to uncover the hidden meanings behind the impasse in his life and the various characters who play a part in it, including a slimy corporate executive (Jude Law), his model girlfriend (Naomi Watts), a high strung firefighter (Wahlberg), and a French nihilist (Isabelle Huppert), who also happens to be the Jaffes’ nemesis.
I could spend a great deal of time delving into the many truly interesting notions that Russell presents in I Heart Huckabees. Theories on coincidences and connectedness, as well as acknowledging such declarative ideas such as that all supposed meaning in the universe is indeed arbitrary, are solidly presented and pose some highly interesting questions. Yet there simply isn’t enough time.
In fact, the lone problem with I Heart Huckabees is that it might actually pose too many questions, some of which get replaced by yet another question as the answer to the previous one begins to form in an audience member’s head. Still, I Heart Huckabees DOES make one question their own existence and place in the world around them. Terms such as nothingness and transcendence are all over the film, which may or may not be every comedy movie lover’s taste.
And yet I Heart Huckabees is a sidesplitting comedy mainly due to the situations Russell puts his characters in. Law thrashing Schwartzman across an elevator with two older women inside is hilarious; likewise the sequences featuring Tomlin doing detective work are full of laughs thanks to her character’s serious treatment of a decidedly unconventional line of work.
Besides Tomlin, the whole cast is allowed the chance to be funny and brilliantly shine as a result. Law and Watts in particular do some of their best work as the beautiful blonde couple who unravel as a result of the Jaffe’s practices.
Yet it’s Wahlberg who steals every scene he’s in. Presented as Albert’s “other,” Wahlberg’s Tommy is a fireman disenchanted with society around him and has traded in the Jaffe’s views for ones filled with paranoia and deep cynicism. It’s hard to believe you’re watching the same Wahlberg when he’s asking Schwartzman to hit him with a huge rubber ball in an effort to clear his mind of thought or when he’s accusing the adopted family of a Sudanese refugee of being immoral. In an ideal movie world, Wahlberg would have gotten an Oscar nomination for his work. Very rarely has an actor committed themselves so much to a comedic role and brought back such stellar results.
I Heart Huckabees received one of the most polarizing responses of any film released in 2004. Some critics took issue with Russell’s comedic take on existentialism, while the subject matter proved to be too alienating for modern audiences.
Three years after its release, the film made headlines once more when videos surfaced featuring Russell and Tomlin engaged in heavy arguments to the great discomfort of cast and crew. The footage quickly went viral despite statements from both actress and director claiming the incidents were blown out of proportion.
Shouting matches aside, I Heart Huckabees remains a highlight of Russell’s career. Its zany plot, fresh comedic tone, an ensemble which collectively shed their previous images, and the tackling of the tricky subject of existentialism in such an imaginative way alone is worthy of great applause.
They say some movies aren’t for everyone and this is more than true in the case of I Heart Huckabees. Yet when one stops to think, wouldn’t it be nice if we could hire someone to tell us why we feel the way we feel and give us answers to the philosophical questions which plague our every day? Only in the movies I guess.
