This column has produced a number of little seen gems throughout its tenure.  One of the rules to the column is that we try to avoid films that have become cult classics.  In general, of course, this is a judgment call, because everyone has their own definition of what may or may not be a cult hit film.  Obvious examples would be movies like Clerks or Donnie Darko.  For me, David O. Russell’s intelligent I Heart Huckabees finds itself firmly entrenched in this gray area, so I am giving it the green light for a write up in this edition of Films-U-Missed.  “Huckabees” was largely passed over in it’s 2004 theatrical run, earning just north of $12 million which was roughly half of it’s reported budget.  By most accounts a box office failure, but it seemed to have found some stable footing on video shelves, as evidenced by the 33,000+ rating votes on its IMDB page.

“Huckabees” was directed by the notoriously tough-to-get-along-with, David O. Russell.  He is almost more famous for his riffs with actor George Clooney and of course, the infamous one with Lily Tomlin, than he is for helming quality works such as 1996′s Flirting with Disaster (with Ben Stiller), or 1999′s Three Kings, with Wahlberg, buddy Spike Jonze, rapper Ice Cube and of course, Clooney.  The turmoil he has caused some actors might make for fun headlines, but distracts from a filmmakers oeuvre who continually challenges himself and filmgoers, with I Heart Huckabees being a prime example.

An A-list ensemble cast was on board for “Huckabees,” a difficult film to describe about existential existence.  When the tagline states “an existential comedy,” one knows they are not in for the average movie going experience, which perhaps explains why it was widely overlooked initially.  Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin play a husband and wife team of investigators who aim their work at helping people uncover their existential being; their “true self” which will help grant them meaning and purpose on Earth.  Among the cast whose intertwining storylines come into play in the film are Mark Wahlberg as a firefighter struggling with familial and career issues, Jude Law, as a corporate hack and boyfriend to Naomi Watts, a model who begins to reject her looks.  It is Jason Schwartzman’s “Albert” who kicks it all into gear as a guy attempting to figure out why he has seen a strange individual on multiple occasions.  The themes of interconnectedness, randomness and circumstance all play a significant role in the piece as the plot (often hilariously) unravels in a who-done-it sort of way.

"Blocking out all thoughts will help you feel more connected to the world."

Hoffman, Tomlin and Schwartzman play off of each other brilliantly, offering up ranges between manic and confused, which might confound some moviegoers but I think serves to heighten the viewing experience.  They record and observe their subjects in every aspects of their lives.  While they are showering, sleeping, sh*tting.  The mysterious set-up with sleuths on the case framing the story place the viewer in the proper mind frame necessary to try to tackle the difficult subject matter.  Wahlberg hasn’t been this funny outside of Boogie Nights and Watts may not have been sexier playing the misinformed blonde.  O. Russell keeps the pace flowing; the movie is continually off-kilter, never allowing the viewer to settle into the idea that they have a complete handle on what is taking place or what the films message is.

On that front, ultimately trying to explain the film is futile and against the wishes of the filmmakers, in my opinion.  The purpose, in large part, is for individual viewers to examine the movie for themselves and form their own takes.  The beauty of an outside-the-box film like this is that there is no clear right or wrong.  Its a thinking man’s movie that is open to interpretation.  Fans of heavy-handed direct messages or popcorn-flick fare need not apply.  Michael Bay (Transformers 2) might not care for this.  While we await David’s The Fighter (another Wahlberg starring movie) next, if you have yet to see this, it is worth a viewing, likely multiple, for those that enjoy the concept.  Rich layers of story, character and performance nuances are uncovered upon repeat viewings as we try to figure out our own concept of what our existential beings are. It comes recommended, but I think your existential being probably already knew that.

By “The Film Nest” guest contributor Chase Kahn (see him in the comments section as well).

“A worried man with a worried mind”, croons an aged Bob Dylan over the opening credits, voice raspier than ever. Michael Douglas plays a struggling writer and literary professor in the midst of a serious life crisis. His wife has just left him, he can’t finish his second novel and he’s in love with the chancellor of the university; her husband also happens to be head of the English department.

In between making early 90’s thrillers (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, The River Wild) and venturing into contemporary Nancy Meyers territory (In Her Shoes, Lucky Me), Curtis Hanson peaked in 1997 with his neo-noir police saga L.A. Confidential. He would follow it up three years later with his 2000 box-office flop Wonder Boys, an exceptional yet underrated and seldom seen film that grossed a mere $19 million domestically. Even with a solid backing by most critics at the time, for whatever reason, the movie never caught on significantly with audiences or awards-season voters, catching just a screenplay, editing and best song nomination at the Oscars.

Douglas plays said professor and novelist Grady Tripp, in love with the aforementioned school chancellor (Frances McDormand) and a mentor to students James Leer (Tobey Maguire) and Hannah Green (Katie Holmes). All the while, he’s hassled by his editor (Robert Downey Jr.) who needs Grady to finish his book as badly as Grady does – for reputations’ sake. To make matters worse, Grady’s most troubling student – the brilliant but reserved James Leer – has just shot his boss’s dog to death at a party, which now finds its resting place in the back of Grady’s 1966 Ford Galaxy.

Michael Douglas as Grady Tripp, a worried man, indeed.

Wonder Boys is essentially a darkly comic ensemble film about finding your purpose, taking action and pushing forward to achieve it – don’t sit idle wallowing in your daily routine. This notion is mirrored in Grady’s unfinished novel, which is pushing 3000 pages without an end in sight. Grady doesn’t have writer’s block, as he describes, he just, “can’t stop.”

It’s also very much fundamentally about the relationship between Grady (Douglas) and his most talented yet troubled student James (Maguire). Hated by his fellow students and quietly “spooky”, he makes his home out of a bus station, snacking on cheese sandwiches out of the vending machine for food. One day, while “rescuing” James from his grandparent’s basement, Grady and his editor, Terry (Robert Downey Jr.) run into a freshly typed paragraph still rolled around the typewriter. “His heart, once capable of inspiring others so completely could no longer inspire so much as itself. It beat now only out of habit,” it reads. Grady isn’t rescuing James, James is rescuing him.

No, Spider-Man is not a part of "The Avengers," sorry.

Douglas finds the twisted ironic center of this character and brings real emotion and humor to him. His filthy and tainted pink robe and leathery, wrinkled brows depict the years of stagnant progression, or lack there of, that have taken a toll on his life which is now clearly in its latter half. In fact, everybody in the cast is great. Before becoming Peter Parker, Tobey Maguire is fantastic here, his blank expression speaking louder than words ever could. Robert Downey Jr. shortly displays the eccentric humor and talent that he would later carry into works like Zodiac and Iron Man. Rip Torn, Frances McDormand and a “Dawson’s Creek” Katie Holmes all supply adequate weight to their respective roles, as well.

Wonder Boys is based on Michael Chabon’s novel of the same name, which was loosely based on his life and a professor he had in college named Chuck Kinder, who also had an inordinately long, unfinished novel. Chabon himself also took seven years in-between 1988’s “Mysteries of Pittsburgh” (his debut) and 1995’s “Wonder Boys”, the exact same amount of time that it’s been since Grady’s debut novel won the PEN award.

An amazing writer, Chabon is also very clearly a movie fan. In addition to references to Errol Flynn and Marilyn Monroe here, in his 2007 novel, “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union”, his alternate history sees Orson Welles finishing his elusive “Hearts of Darkness”, something only a die-hard film fan would ever dream of. I’m sure someone like Chabon would find a lot of like here in Wonder Boys, a real hidden gem.

Buy this Films U Missed here.

F-U-M entry by special “The Film Nest” guest contributor, Rob R. (Raging Rob in the Comments section)

Of all the films involving criminals and the drug trade most show us characters at the pinnacle of their game. Movies like Scarface, Blow and Layer Cake all show us characters who have worked their way to the top. As we all know, in real life not everyone makes it there. Pusher II: With Blood On My Hands is a story about just such a guy. Tonny is someone who nobody, in his circle of criminal and lowlife friends, respects. The fact that he bears a tattoo with these very words is the epitome of irony. Most of the people around Tonny detest his presence because despite his intentions, things just never go his way. It doesn’t help that Tonny is a drug-addicted screw-up content to just go along for the ride.

Pusher II is the second and most compelling film in the Danish crime trilogy by writer/director Nicolas Winding Refn, who’s latest film Bronson coincidentally, premieres here in LA in a few weeks. After the success of the first Pusher film in 1996, the sequel follows up with the story of Tonny, the partner of antagonist Frank from the original. This film picks up with Tonny having just been released after yet another stint in prison. Owing his ex-cellmate some money, he decides to seek employment from his father, The Duke.

Is Tonny a baby daddy? The resemblance is striking.

The Duke runs an illegal car theft business and is also one of Copenhagen’s top underworld bosses. Tonny’s father, as we find out, has another son that is obviously his favorite and he only reluctantly gives Tonny another chance. It takes no time for Tonny to get back to his criminal ways, as he boosts a Ferrari as a gift to his father, only to be told how stupid it was to take such a “hot” car with nary an order for one. Tonny also finds himself mixed up in a coke deal gone bad between a local brothel owner and Milo, the Serbian drug dealer from the first Pusher.

As if all this wasn’t enough, Tonny finds out he might have fathered a child with Charlotte, the town whore. At first he wants nothing to do with the child, but soon he finds himself drawn to the infant. Pusher II is a study of a man desperately seeking the approval of his father. Will Tonny ever find the approval he is looking for, and can he give his own possible son the love he has never had? As Tonny is pushed to his breaking point, the film will leave you stunned at how far he is willing to go to save himself.

"You lookin' at me? 'Cause I don't see nobody else."

The lead performance by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is truly outstanding. Mikkelsen is best known to U.S. audiences as the villian in the 2006 James Bond reboot Casino Royale. Here Mikkelsen’s Tonny is someone everyone calls a loser and an idiot. He seems to even believe they might be right about him. As an audience we start to sympathize with this character, and it’s a testament to Mikkelsen’s acting abilities that we begin to feel for such an unsympathetic loser.

The film is filled with gritty locations and shot with hand-held cameras in some very seedy parts of Copenhagen. The camera work by Morten Soborg has an almost documentary feel that puts you right in the middle of this very intense world. The film also features a rock/techno score that really enhances the films dark atmosphere. Brimming with realistic performances, Pusher II: With Blood On My Hands is a crime story about fathers and their sons, and redemption that is, if you might have missed it, well worth diving into.

Buy this Film U Missed here.