A psychiatrist travels around the world to
research the secret to being truly happy. COMEDY/DRAMA
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Hector and the
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On the surface, Hector and the Search for Happiness is a blatantly transparent rip-off of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. However, peeling back the veil reveals a film with a great deal of heart. This film relishes its simplicity and shows that happiness is entirely subjective. I don't think anybody but Simon Pegg could've delivered a performance that felt real enough to believe in. While there are some flaws, I was happily surprised by this film for the most part.
I like the characters that Hector (Pegg) encounters on his global journey, from rich businessman Stellan Skarsgård to scary drug tycoon Jean Reno. The only I didn't like is the one person the film really wants us to like, Hector's girlfriend Rosamund Pike. Don't get me wrong, I think she's a terrific actress. I just hated how her character, Clara, was written. Clara is quick to anger, controlling, and extremely jealous. Yet, she's supposed to be the woman Hector ends up with. For me, this ruined the end of the movie and pretty much backtracked his entire journey. Another big flaw is predictability. From the get-go, it's fairly obvious he's going to find himself and meet a ton of interesting characters. I didn't expect the African prison. That threw me for a loop and turned the film extremely dark for a bit. Apart from that, the film is a funny, optimistic, and enjoyable introspective dramedy with a solid cast. Frankly, I think it's probably better than a self-help book. |