You see a DVD on the shelf at your local meat factory with actors that you rate in a comedy that surely couldn’t be all that bad and you think what the hell. The problem is that every now and again you get burned and that’s sort of the case with Simon Pegg (Star Trek Beyond) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) in Hector And The Search For Happiness. It’s not that it’s entirely without its merits, but there are just too many faults to make it anywhere near the comedy gem status we were hoping for.
It came out in cinemas back in August 2014, where it struggled to pull in much of an audience, before getting its DVD, Blu-ray and digital download release on the 9th February 2015. Directed by Peter Chelsom and based on the François Lelord book of the same name, it’s a movie that doesn’t adapt the concept to film very well, failing to give key concepts the time and focus they need to make sense and delivering it all with a large helping of Rochforte on the top of a dry and slightly damp Jacobs cracker.
The story is that of Hector, a psychiatrist that has started to question his own understanding of happiness, making him frustrated with his patients, his girlfriend, his life and the thought of the girl who got away. As he gets closer to the end of his short and spindly tether he decides to ditch it all to head out on a journey of discovery, taking in the stunning cityscapes of Shaghai, snow capped mountains of China, the intensity of an African aid hospital and the sun kissed delights of the Californian coast. While all of this sounds workable on paper, it doesn’t translate well in the delivery of the film.
The biggest issue for us is that it was a bit of a waste of skills on the part of the cast, which includes Tony Collette, Jean Reno, Stellan Skarsgård and Christopher Plummer, along with Pegg and Pike. They’re all individually great actors in their own way, but they don’t have the script or direction needed to make the most of their capabilities in the film.
While Simon Pegg is great in comedies like Shaun Of The Dead or The World’s End, he just doesn’t have the emotional range to be able to tap into the intended depth of his character, so it just feels like a casting mismatch for the lead role. Crying and confessing his deepest held feelings are just not in his acting vocabulary and while he does pretty well at conveying fear, the transition back to glib escape plans feel insincere in the extreme. He’s also rubbish at jubilation and acting the fool, which is far removed from his erstwhile deadpan successes.
On a plus side there is some impressive cinematography, cute cut scene animation and a quirky visual style to look out for, which adds a little in the way of redemption for the film. It’s not easy covering the gritty reality of an African gang boss’ jail cell rat pit while also featuring the whimsical beauty of a mountain monk celebration, but that’s exactly what the crew have done under the guidance of cinematographer Koldja Brandt.
There’s also some positives in the philosophical musings on happiness that are the focus of the film. It is only these and the visual style of Hector And The Search Of Happiness that give us any real reason to recommend watching the film. They should give you enough to ponder, while you also reflect on how badly the rest of the movie content is delivered.
Hector And The Search Of Happiness DVD review: 2.2/5
