I didn't really care about this movie until seeing the trailer. Despite the critical acclaim David O. Russell has received for his prior directorial efforts, including Three Kings and Flirting With Disaster, I've never really found his particular brand of humor to my taste. But, based on the first two-minute trailer for I Heart Huckabees, it looks to be a veritable laugh riot.
Billed as an "existential comedy," the film is being distributed by Fox Searchlight, which seems to be starting to specialize in this sort of quirky comedy (see the current Garden State and Napoleon Dynamite). The trailer does best when focusing on the comedy side of things, delivering a rapid-fire series of witty, original one-liners with the occasional slapstick thrown in for good measure. The deadpan delivery and snappy patter, though taken largely out of context, points to a quality script by Russel and co-writer Jeff Baena.
The real selling point of the movie is its stellar cast, lead by veterans Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin and supported by a solid quartet of young stars (Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Naomi Watts, and Mark Wahlberg). The trailer showcases the cast, giving each actor a few scenes and at least one good line each.
On the strength of its pedigree alone, I Heart Huckabees could be more than just another little comedy. While it's not likely to be a breakout hit along the lines of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the film could do decent business outside of the NY/LA market if Fox puts some meat behind the marketing and word of mouth is good. While the premise may be a bit too esoteric for general audiences, the familiar cast could be enough to bring in more than the usual art house crowd.
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Article comments
1 - Jim Carruthers
I saw the trailer for this today, and having really liked his previous movies, this looks really interesting. And probably has little to do with the movie itself.
Have you seen the trailer for the new John Waters movie, "Dirty Shame"? It's really good in that it leaves most of what happens to your imagination -- well, Tracey Ullman and a water bottle, especially.