听 Taking his cues from Zen philosophy, David O Russell directs the "glib existential comedy" I Heart Huckabees. Jason Schwartzman and Dustin Hoffman are among an eclectic cast trying to figure out what's it all about, but many critics were left nonplussed and it failed to recoup its ambitious $20m budget at the box office. Still, enough people were enchanted by its bonkers mix of screwball comedy and theological theorising to qualify this as a cult hit.
I Think Therefore I Ham
I Heart Huckabees may be a failure, but it's at least a fascinating one. This DVD provides plenty of food for thought and irreverent musings on the meaning of life best evidenced in the Existential Detectives' Infomercial. In character as the detectives, Dustin Hoffman and Lilly Tomlin talk to professors of religion and philosophy, including Professor Robert Thurman who inspired Hoffman's character (and also happens to be Uma's dad). It's a mind-bending half-hour summarised by Hoffman's observation that, "Everything that we think is, is not is." Which at least explains his decision to star in Runaway Jury.
Spike Jonze is credited as a cameraman on Production Surveillance, a madcap video diary that captures the bafflement of cast and crew on location. "We're not sure what it's about," says Isabelle Huppert, "But we know for sure it's about something." And it wasn't just on screen that things got a bit surreal. Witness Schwartzman suckling at Jude Law's (very convincing) prosthetic breasts between takes and ask yourself: "What's it all about?" After watching this, you'll understand why Mark Wahlberg needed counselling in preparation for his role.
David O Russell attempts to break down the philosophy behind the story in a fascinating but ultimately frustrating feature commentary. "In physics it's not possible for there to be nothing," he says. "Nothing would have to be next to everything and then it wouldn't be nothing anymore, it'd be something that would be part of everything." Fair enough, but that doesn't answer critical questions regarding Hoffman's bowl hairdo and Law's lady breasts!
The Hucksters
In addition to the theory, there are practical insights in a group commentary that includes Schwartzman, Wahlberg, and Naomi Watts. For example Schwartzman reveals how Hoffman coached him through some difficult "angry moments", shooting one scene, he says, "with me pretending Dustin was my dog going to the bathroom on the floor." Acting really is a noble profession, eh?
Don't expect any of four deleted scenes to throw light on Huckabees' delirious plot, especially since these are mainly improvised riffs on existing scenes. However, there are some amusing moments, like in the detectives' waiting room where Schwartzman debates issues ranging from poetry to pizza with a little girl who could rival Bill Murray for deadpan delivery. Sadly no one can offer a satisfactory explanation for the stuffed crust issue.
Other novelties include a featurette on Jon Brion's quirky score, commercials for Huckabees "The Everything Store" and 6 very funny public service announcements for The Open Spaces Coalition (championed by Schwartzman's character). A bizarre set of bloopers and outtakes find Wahlberg repeatedly hitting Jude Law (it's funny but we can't explain why) and Hoffman shamelessly farting in a scene with Schwartzman (presumably another one of those genius acting techniques). To put it mildly, it's a wacky set of extras that means, even if you didn't heart Huckabees at the cinema, you can appreciate it on a whole new level on DVD, ie from the top floor of a psychiatric hospital.
EXTRA FEATURES
