#94: I ♥ Huckabees
(USA, 2004; dir. David O. Russell; scr. David O. Russell and Jeff Baena; cin. Peter Deming; with Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Naomi Watts, Isabelle Huppert, Talia Shire, Richard Jenkins, Jean Smart, Jonah Hill, Darlene Hunt, Shania Twain)
IMDb // My Page


You got all that, right?

I know, I know, this movie came out, like, five minutes ago, but I ♥ Huckabees was the only movie of 2004 that I paid to see three times in a theater, and every time, I laughed like I was screaming. Every time, the triple-threat of Wahlberg, Hoffman, and Law proved that they deserved an Oscar category all their own for Flawless Comic Support Without Scenery-Hogging. Every time, the movie's sharp harpoons into the absurd fractiousness of the American "liberal" left hit all of their marks, even as the movie tipped all the sacred cows of big business, "Christian" hypocrisy, and star-studded realpolitik with equal aplomb. The movie is crazily deep with subtle touches, golden scenes, and brilliant sidebar performances. That dinner scene with Jean Smart and Richard Jenkins? The priceless walk-on from Talia Shire? Lily Tomlin, her desk strewn with notebooks titled "Coincidences" and "Galaxies" and "Fathers," refocusing her eyes every few seconds? Jon Brion's miraculous score, with the drunken calliope and the galloping rhythm? I ♥ed the whole thing, and I'm not seeing the love dissipating any time soon.

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