I Heart Huckabees

Yes, it’s a philosophical comedy! A philosophomedy! It’s comedophilosophical! And, surprisingly, it’s not stupid. I Heart Huckabees’ greatest accomplishment may be that it makes Hegel and Nietzsche comprehensible without dumbing them down or mentioning them by name. It’s also got some great performances from Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law, Dustin Hoffman and the much-underutilized Said Taghmaoui. Jason Shwartzman stars as Albert Markovski, a self-aggrandizing, morally conflicted environmentalist who wants to save a wetlands area from development, and also wants everyone to love him and think he’s so very special. Unfortunately, the much more handsome Brad Stand (played by the much more handsome Jude Law) steps in and charms Markovski’s coalition away from him and into a world of superficiality and Shania Twain posters. All this leads Albert toward a world of despair and into the hands of existential detectives Bernard and Vivian. However, and moreover, and furthermore, dark, French forces of philosophical nihilism are conspiring to lead everyone to an abyss of meaning where all connection is lost and love is propagated in the muddy fields of the mind. It’s funny … and thinky … and probably a commercial disaster! Catch it before it closes some time next week.