140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Bit of a rorschach test; I saw winsome & wonderful, if quite familiar, inspirational tale. Most saw a schmaltzy bit of treacle. Both right.
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Hector and the Search for Happiness
Hector and the Search for Happiness is one more in a long line of films that probably will be missed by much of its intended audience due to the complete over-saturation of the market. The state of modern movie-going is so rich, providing more opportunities to get a film made than ever before. And that is of course wonderful. But it does almost inevitably bring with it the equal opportunity to be totally ignored in the face of so many other opportunities…
It certainly did nothing at the box office, although it’s anyone’s guess how much that matters at this point. I’d argue that this is the type of movie so destined to be watched at home that a theatrical release is probably more for the sake of appearances than any particular expectation of financial return.
All of my above points are from my perspective in the United States, of course. As this is a German production with a multi-national cast, this is probably a limited outlook. The whole picture screams “global audience” and so I hope it does better abroad.
Based on the French novel of the same name, (Le Voyage d’Hector ou la Recherche du bonheur) by François Lelord, Hector and the Search for Happiness follows the titular character, a rigid and emotionally constipated psychiatrist who has lost the joy in his work and life. He has a (perhaps excessively) doting girlfriend and a thriving practice, but he isn’t happy and fears that he is unable to help his patients become so either. So he sets out to broaden his horizons and seek out the secret to happiness in a globe-trotting experiment.
I’m a sucker for this kind of picture and even I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d already seen it. The film has many forbears, both in print and film. There’s undeniably a self-help book feel to the picture, and as I watched, not knowing anything about the production, I idly wondered whether it was based on one of those brightly colored thought treatises that seem to hang out on the bestseller lists every few months.
Just off the top of my head, the picture resembled Michael J. Fox’s book Always Looking Up and the TV special that accompanied it (Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist), as well as a bunch of feature films, particularly Stranger than Fiction and the recent version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I also kept flashing back to Rob Reiner’s North, also an adaptation. Hector is uncomfortably similar to Ben Stiller’s take on Walter Mitty (which I also enjoyed).
The story differs from some of the works I named in that there is a real edge to the situations Hector experiences in his travels; he is in genuine danger and interacting with people in serious circumstances.
Simon Pegg is so charming he can anchor just about any film and everyone is better off for it. That doesn’t keep the main character and his emotional arc from being so so derivative, though.
The film makes some great use of imaginative visuals, inserting models, hand-drawn animation and antique-looking film stock. These flourishes aren’t as revolutionary as they once were, but they still are very effective and don’t come off as gimmicky (in this instance).
Despite the omnipresent deja vu, I liked Hector and the Search for Happiness. I freely admit that my enjoyment of the picture owes quite a bit to my favorable disposition to Simon Pegg and that with a different star I may have been far more critical. (Though maybe not – I really liked 2013’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and I can’t stand Ben Stiller.) Provisionally recommended.
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Fail
The Representation Test Score: C (4 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
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| Main Cast | Simon Pegg Hector, Rosamund Pike Clara, Tracy Ann Oberman Pathetic Jane, Jean Reno Diego Baresco |
| Rating | R |
| Release Date | Thu 14 Aug 2014 UTC |
| Director | Peter Chelsom |
| Genres | Adventure, Comedy, Drama |
| Plot | A psychiatrist searches the globe to find the secret of happiness. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 114 |
| Tagline | Everyone wants to find it. |
| Writers | Maria von Heland (screenplay) and, Peter Chelsom (screenplay) … |
| Year | 2014 |