...while it is little more than a lightweight charade masquerading as deep wisdom, there were parts of it I enjoyed.
We're all grabbing at things to make order of our lives, things like religion, politics, philosophy, literature, hobbies, sports, sex, cars, movies, what have you. The story takes its shots at all of them, and while the results may seem at times more than a trifle chaotic, most of it remains in fun. If the movie makes you think a mite while it makes you smile, then all the better. But for all its lighthearted tomfoolery, it does, as I say, tend to take itself a tad too seriously, so don't expect any big belly-laughs. They come few and far between. When it was over, I had one of those "Is that all there is?" feelings.
Video:
The movie is presented in two different formats on flip sides of disc one, pan-and-scan and widescreen. The P&S is a true butchering of the theatrical aspect ratio, cutting out more than 40% of the image left and right. The widescreen, which is what I watched, measures a ratio approximately 2.31:1 across my standard-screen Sony HD television, the image further enhanced (anamorphic) for 16x9 TVs. The bit rate is not very high for a Fox transfer, however, so the image is not entirely as sharp or crisp nor the colors as deep as on many of the studio's other releases. The slightly soft, blurry focus may be entirely for effect, however, as it tends to mirror the out-of-focus lives of the characters in the story. At least, that could be used as one rationalization for the movie's appearance. Colors are generally bright, though, and grain is a nonissue.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound does what it's called upon to do and little more. Obviously, it is not called upon to do very much, as this film is almost entirely dialogue driven. There are very few loud sounds of any kind, let alone surround sounds. Musical ambiance reinforcement is lightly encouraged through the rear speakers, and the occasional voice can be heard to the far left or right of the front speakers. The audio reproduction is clean and clear, if a tad hard and bright.
Extras:
As far as I can tell, the only difference between the regular edition of this movie and the Special Edition two-disc set is the addition of the second disc. In other words, disc one of the Special Edition appears to be identical to disc one of the regular edition. It contains the standard and widescreen versions of the movie; twenty-four scene selections; English and Spanish spoken languages; and English and Spanish subtitles. In addition, you get two audio commentaries, the first by director David O. Russell alone, and the second also by the director, this time aided by stars Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, and Naomi Watts, the latter three actors coming in at various times. Russell is a soft-spoken guy who obviously takes all of this existential business very seriously and wants earnestly to share it with viewers of his movie. In both commentaries the director explains what he was trying to get at with the symbolism of the story. Needless to say, the actors provide their own takes on the film's meaning when they get their chance as well.
Disc two is what you pay your money for in the Special Edition. It begins with a thirty-four minute production documentary, wherein the actors and filmmakers further discuss the meaning of the film for each of them personally. It is not typically self-promotional as so many documentaries are; it is more revealing of the filmmakers involved. Following that is a thirty-one minute "Charlie Rose Show" interview with Russell and others. Then, there are twenty-two deleted or extended scenes, fifty-one minutes worth in non-anamorphic widescreen, some of them looking more like outtakes than merely finished but discarded scenes. Three minutes of actual outtakes come next, after which are four more minutes of sundry, goofy screwups called "Miscellaneous Things People Did."
Then there is a multitude of short featurettes on production design, costume design, music with composer Jon Brion, a photo montage, simulated public-service announcements and commercials, and several segments from twenty-eight to thirty-four minutes in length on an existential detective infomercial that features real professors of physics and religion discussing quantum mechanics and string theory. There was probably even more stuff I missed, but it was getting late, I had spent the better part of a day with the disc, and I was starting to fade. The two discs give you your money's worth of film and bonuses in terms of quantity, but the material tends to get repetitious fast.
Parting Thoughts:
It isn't often that you find a comedy (or any film, for that matter) that raises questions about our very existence: How do we achieve happiness? Why are we here, where did we come from, and where are we going if this is all there is? Can we have the light without the dark, the good without the bad?
"I Heart Huckabees" is a kind of experiential, Zen-like, Joseph Campbell, "Star Wars," "Paradise Lost" comedy, with its characters wandering through life's maze, searching for meaning. If this seems heavy or preachy, I assure you it isn't. It's mostly playful and lively. The movie doesn't contain the solutions to life's mysteries, nor is it always very funny; but while it is little more than a lightweight charade masquerading as deep wisdom, there were parts of it I enjoyed.
Video:
The movie is presented in two different formats on flip sides of disc one, pan-and-scan and widescreen. The P&S is a true butchering of the theatrical aspect ratio, cutting out more than 40% of the image left and right. The widescreen, which is what I watched, measures a ratio approximately 2.31:1 across my standard-screen Sony HD television, the image further enhanced (anamorphic) for 16x9 TVs. The bit rate is not very high for a Fox transfer, however, so the image is not entirely as sharp or crisp nor the colors as deep as on many of the studio's other releases. The slightly soft, blurry focus may be entirely for effect, however, as it tends to mirror the out-of-focus lives of the characters in the story. At least, that could be used as one rationalization for the movie's appearance. Colors are generally bright, though, and grain is a nonissue.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound does what it's called upon to do and little more. Obviously, it is not called upon to do very much, as this film is almost entirely dialogue driven. There are very few loud sounds of any kind, let alone surround sounds. Musical ambiance reinforcement is lightly encouraged through the rear speakers, and the occasional voice can be heard to the far left or right of the front speakers. The audio reproduction is clean and clear, if a tad hard and bright.
Extras:
As far as I can tell, the only difference between the regular edition of this movie and the Special Edition two-disc set is the addition of the second disc. In other words, disc one of the Special Edition appears to be identical to disc one of the regular edition. It contains the standard and widescreen versions of the movie; twenty-four scene selections; English and Spanish spoken languages; and English and Spanish subtitles. In addition, you get two audio commentaries, the first by director David O. Russell alone, and the second also by the director, this time aided by stars Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, and Naomi Watts, the latter three actors coming in at various times. Russell is a soft-spoken guy who obviously takes all of this existential business very seriously and wants earnestly to share it with viewers of his movie. In both commentaries the director explains what he was trying to get at with the symbolism of the story. Needless to say, the actors provide their own takes on the film's meaning when they get their chance as well.
Disc two is what you pay your money for in the Special Edition. It begins with a thirty-four minute production documentary, wherein the actors and filmmakers further discuss the meaning of the film for each of them personally. It is not typically self-promotional as so many documentaries are; it is more revealing of the filmmakers involved. Following that is a thirty-one minute "Charlie Rose Show" interview with Russell and others. Then, there are twenty-two deleted or extended scenes, fifty-one minutes worth in non-anamorphic widescreen, some of them looking more like outtakes than merely finished but discarded scenes. Three minutes of actual outtakes come next, after which are four more minutes of sundry, goofy screwups called "Miscellaneous Things People Did."
Then there is a multitude of short featurettes on production design, costume design, music with composer Jon Brion, a photo montage, simulated public-service announcements and commercials, and several segments from twenty-eight to thirty-four minutes in length on an existential detective infomercial that features real professors of physics and religion discussing quantum mechanics and string theory. There was probably even more stuff I missed, but it was getting late, I had spent the better part of a day with the disc, and I was starting to fade. The two discs give you your money's worth of film and bonuses in terms of quantity, but the material tends to get repetitious fast.
Parting Thoughts:
It isn't often that you find a comedy (or any film, for that matter) that raises questions about our very existence: How do we achieve happiness? Why are we here, where did we come from, and where are we going if this is all there is? Can we have the light without the dark, the good without the bad?
"I Heart Huckabees" is a kind of experiential, Zen-like, Joseph Campbell, "Star Wars," "Paradise Lost" comedy, with its characters wandering through life's maze, searching for meaning. If this seems heavy or preachy, I assure you it isn't. It's mostly playful and lively. The movie doesn't contain the solutions to life's mysteries, nor is it always very funny; but while it is little more than a lightweight charade masquerading as deep wisdom, there were parts of it I enjoyed.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]14106[/release]