7. “I Heart Huckabee’s” (2004)
Arguably Russell’s most divisive work, “I Heart Huckabee’s” occasionally resembles more of a Charlie Kaufman mindfuck rather than any of the playful, big-hearted dramedies that the director is better known for. Met with largely mixed notices from critics upon its release — particularly in the wake of “Three Kings,” which was focused and furious where “Huckabee’s” is loopy and unwound — it now stands as one of Russell’s more memorable films, if not exactly his best. A sort of high-strung existential screwball comedy, “Huckabee’s” is mainly the story of Albert Markovsky, marvelously played by Jason Schwartzman as an overgrown, idealistic teenager prone to reading his own embarrassingly emotive poetry and throwing temper tantrums on a whim. Albert’s an environmentalist, sort of: a position that’s put him squarely in the crosshairs of Huckabee’s, an open-space-trampling chain of department megastores personified by Brad Stand, (Jude Law, playing comic condescension to the hilt) a type-A corporate striver who’s everything Albert is not. When a recurring series of run-ins with a tall African man sends Albert into an existential tizzy, he seeks out the services of Bernard and Vivian Jaffe (the delicious duo of Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin). They’re a hip (and married) pair of “existential detectives” who get paid to rummage around in their client’s subconscious affairs. “Huckabee’s” is notable for the broad, sometimes physical comedy that gave early works like “Flirting with Disaster” their fizzy kick, and yet it’s also uncommonly deep: an angry farce that buzzes with anxiety and a sense of piercing moral inquiry. The film has an inspired, slash-and-burn energy that goes for broke more often then not, as in a gloriously disruptive dinner scene featuring a bearded Richard Jenkins and a pre-fame Jonah Hill that’s as explosively funny as anything in “American Hustle”. “Huckabee’s” is also proof, if any was needed, that Russell has always been able to get terrific work out of his actors, particularly Naomi Watts as a Huckabee’s model who begins to question her superficial lifestyle and a hilarious Mark Wahlberg as a bicycle-riding firefighter who has vowed not to ever use petroleum in the wake of 9/11. Unfortunately, many will remember this flawed, fascinating film more for reports of Russell’s volatile on-set behavior (we’ve all seen that Lily Tomlin video) but that’d be a shame. Even if it doesn’t quite hang together like some of Russell’s later, more confident work, it’s still a punchy oddball delight, and a vital work from its director.
6. “Spanking The Monkey” (1994)
Winning the award of ‘All Time Worst Film To Watch With Your Parents,’ Russell’s provocative, jet-black comedy-of-manners debut could, on the surface, be similar to all kinds of sub-Sundance movies from young filmmakers, dealing as it does with a pre-med student having to move back with his parents for the summer. But this being a David O. Russell joint, it had a unique twist that made it stand out immediately when it bowed at Sundance in 1994: Jeremy Davies’ neurotic lead Ray, left looking after his broken-legged mother (Alberta Watson), ends up increasingly attracted to her. The queasily taboo-busting premise got the film the attention that Russell needed for his debut, but the film’s tone is, while broad in places, rather more interesting in tone, nodding to “The Graduate” and “Harold And Maude,” delving deep into its hero’s sexual frustration and confusion and, despite the extremes the movie goes to, proving tender and sympathetic to its hero. Much of that, beside Russell’s already assured blend of tones, comes down to the central performances: Davies, whose career was just getting underway (this launched him to work with Spielberg on “Saving Private Ryan” just a few years later), is a terrifically put-upon Oedipus, while Watson (who sadly passed away earlier this year, aged just 60) is even better, a ferocious, sexy, mercurial woman. Their chemistry, in both a family and sexual sense, utterly sells the film. Outside of the central relationship, it’s less successful. Even by the standards of Russell’s often heightened approach to family life, things get a little broad and cartoonish, stacking the deck so absurdly against Ray that it starts to feel artificial and conceited in places. And the helmer isn’t yet as formally assured as it would become, with the movie looking very much like a first film for most of its running time. But even so, it was a more than promising debut that hints at exactly the kind of filmmaker he would become.
5. “Silver Linings Playbook” (2012)
On paper at least, “Silver Linings Playbook” doesn’t sound like anything special. An adaptation of Matthew Quick’s debut novel of the same name — about a teacher who is hospitalized for a bipolar disorder after making a discovery of his wife’s infidelity — Russell’s sixth feature bears all the trappings of cynical Oscar bait on its admittedly glossy surface. And while the film’s detractors complain that the result is too cloying and/or contrived, the film’s high points are practically impossible to deny. ‘Silver Linings,’ like its hero, is unabashedly sincere, a little crazy, occasionally irritating but ultimately winning: a stirring, sad and often bruisingly funny ode to forgiveness and reinvention. Bradley Cooper does astonishing work as Pat Solintano: a man who, in the wake of a personal tragedy, is determined to find the “silver lining” in every situation, even if said situation ends with him being kicked out of his therapist’s office or beating the crap out of his sweet, football-loving dad Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro, defying the late-career slump many have accused him of being stuck in). The moody, explosive Pat eventually meets a kindred spirit in the form of Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence, beginning what would be a fruitful working relationship with the director). She’s a promiscuous, whip-smart troublemaker who’s working through her own set of very dark issues. Cooper and Lawrence have a fascinating, prickly, give-and-take chemistry in what would be their first collaboration with Russell (De Niro would go on to work with the director again in both “American Hustle” and “Joy,” as would character actor Shea Whigham, who plays Pat’s more stable brother in “Silver Linings” and has a small role in “Hustle”). Many have unjustly labeled the film a rom-com, and while the script inevitably hits some familiar beats, labelling the film as such feels a bit reductive. Like practically all of Russell’s films, “Silver Linings Playbook” is a big-hearted look at flawed, desperate people struggling to be the best possible versions of themselves that they can be. Sure, a few of the film’s plot threads are too neatly wrapped up and yes, the film actually climaxes with an exuberant dance-off that foretells the fates of the movie’s characters. But these are small quibbles, as only a churl could resist the sparkling human vision Russell has concocted here: a poignant chronicle of life’s highs and lows and a superb showcase for its stars.