The thing about philosophy is that it only matters if you believe it matters. You can easily go your whole life without putting too much energy into the broader questions. Therefore a movie in which the central character's journeys are philosophical and not physical, only matters if you believe it matters. In the case of I Heart Huckabees, despite an outstanding cast of actors and some funny moments, I never cared enough to believe that this movie was anything other than pretentious; the kind of movie they might show in Philosophy 101 classes.
Jason Schwartzman stars as Albert Markovski, a whiney environmentalist/poet, who's more concerned about getting his poems in his coalition's flyers than he is about the movement. When charming but phony Brad Stand (Law), an executive for department store chain Huckabees, takes over Albert's efforts to save an area of marshland, Albert begins to question the meaning of things. After a small but meaningless coincidence Albert believes that the universe is trying to tell him something. He enlists the help of existential detectives Bernard (Hoffman) and Vivian (Tomlin). In an effort to solve his 'case', the detectives follow and observe Albert throughout his day and try to teach him their philosophy.
There are a lot of ideas floating around in this movie, such as Bernard's use of a blanket to describe the interconnectedness of all things. There are also several fantasy sequences as Albert tries to get inside his own head to work out his problems. They're sometimes amusing but if anything Albert needs to get out of his own head and deal with the real world rather than sink deeper into his own.
The film definitely works best in the lighter moments. Hoffman and Tomlin work well together and provide the most laughs. Mark Wahlberg, who plays a troubled firefighter, is mildly amusing, if only because it's funny to hear someone like him expounding upon the meaning of existence. However, the jokes are never enough to keep you entertained, especially as the movie wears on and the novelty of its quirkiness grows thinner.
Studying philosophy is a little like mental masturbation. It can be a fun exercise but in the end it doesn't accomplish very much. If rather than spending his time trying to decipher the meaning of the universe, Albert had spent more time in the real world, he might have been able to alter the outcome of his relationship with Brad, and we might have been given a movie that entertained instead of merely one where writer/director David O. Russell mentally plays with himself.
