I (heart) Huckabees

REVIEW
If Charlie Kaufman has created a surreal new genre of screenwriting, then Russell's verbally dense comedy might be the first outside entry. Following a roughly linear dream logic, the plot begins with a frustrated poetaster/activist (Schwartzman) who retains two "existential detectives" (the wonderful Hoffman and Tomlin) to solve a series of coincidences. This leads to, among other things, confrontations with his old corporate partner (Law), an affair with a rival existentialist (Huppert), a friendship with an oil-hating fireman (the scene-stealing Wahlberg), and stories about Shania Twain eating chicken salad. It's essentially a series of riffs on issues close to cowriter/director Russell's heart (from philosophy to the environment), with occassional forays into screwball farce that he's already proven expert in (the climax, taking place entirely in an elevator, lies somewhere between A Night at the Opera and My Dinner with Andre). The whole film isn't quite up to the task, however; a recurring visual motif of disconnected matter is flat and uninspired, the pace flags in the midsection, and the rare vulgar gags are shockingly out of place. Still, it's an uplifting and entertaining adult comedy, where the humor is elevated by the flurry of smart ideas rather than being buried under them.