June 8, 2008
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I ♥ Huckabees. Quite the movie to wrap one’s head around on a Sunday afternoon. I also rented Thank You for Smoking which I’ll have to get to one of these nights. Having a cold has lead me to cross out half of one of my goals for this summer – watch more movies.
So, Dustin Hoffman, one of the Existential Detectives, holds up a blanket. Showing the main character, Albert (played by Jason Schwartzman), that we’re all connected. We are pieces of a blanket and there are other blankets connected to our blanket, etc. Something like that. Then, Dustin asks him to think about the blanket everyday, how we’re all connected. Lily Tomlin, his wife in the movie and another Detective, run an agency that deals with Existential Investigations – Hilarious! Essentially, the movie makes one think on whether we all are connected, whether things matter, if we are nothing and nothing matters than we can do whatever we want, stuff like this… Albert even has a Coincidence File and gets told constant hypocritical theories on life. Brad, played by that main “hot” guy from Alfie who got caught with his nanny, also hires the detectives and finds himself repeating the same Shania Twain story because it makes him look funny, sound cool because he one-ups Shania, and shows he’s got connections to someone famous. I wondered if I tell the same stories over and over and what they say about me… Beyond that, Brad also has to deal with one looming question (since he seems rather fake): How am I not myself? It seems like one of those questions kids have to deal with in high school – who am I? Am I me because of my friends? Etc. Perhaps some people have to wrestle this question in college and even later on, but I feel lucky to know me pretty well. And I love existential questions that take dissertations to answer.
One tip Dustin offers to Albert is that one should occupy one’s mind with anything helpful & positive at all times. At the start of the movie, he’s swearing to himself in his mind and questioning everything he’s doing. How inefficient and how tiring that must be. I’m sure I do it, but I think Dustin’s tip is great. Only focus on helpful thoughts and ideas.
