Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014)

Not going to lie, I'm not quite sure what to make of Hector and the Search for Happiness. Part of me wants to say that it is straight up asking the question, "Can Simon Pegg's presence alone carry a film?" But then, part of me feels like it was a cornier, less compelling take on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  Thing is, the film also has Rosamund Pike carry a few scenes as well, so it's not like it's a bad cast or poorly acted. It's just... I'm not entirely sure what to make of it.

Seemingly taking a page from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, this is the story of a bland man going nowhere and just going through the motions. One day, he randomly gets the idea in his head that he needs to take a trip and go on an adventure. Not so much to "find himself" as much as it is to "study what makes people happy," so he can better help his patients. Of course, there are as many ideas about what is happiness as there are individuals, and Hector (Pegg) tries in vain to find that one quick, simple answer. 

Splice between his nerdy drawings and lame attempts to sum up happiness in one neat, fortune cookie sentiment, we get strange montages. Some of them kind of make sense, set to stylish music to indicate the fun time Hector is having. Other times, we get strange dream sequences giving us a glimpse into what might actually frighten him or showing things he had lost or left behind. Sometimes, we even flash back to things we just watched half an hour ago, seeing how that now fits in. At times, it feels pretentious, convoluted, and unnecessary. At others, it feels quasi-significant. There are also some strange animations that occur, perhaps to break up the monotony of the map-trekking plot. 

Subtlety is not the film's strong suit either. The emotions Pike and Pegg show seem real enough (they are great actors, after all), but the film really tries to drive the message home that happiness is in the pursuit. It's that old cliche of fearing death means you never truly live. They so much as introduce a character at the very end to specifically state that outright. Christopher Plummer's appearance at the end is nice, but only really serves to hammer the point even further. Even Toni Collette's appearance as Hector's old flame and representative of a life not lived feels a bit forced. 

At times, both artsy and safe, I guess I'm just not ultimately sure how I felt. The acting is great - Pegg and Pike (who were equally excellent in the last of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy The World's End) could be in everything together and I wouldn't mind - but I'm not terribly sure the direction is all that great. Pegg's excellence shines through, especially in the comedic moments. Of course, I'm one of those rare people who loved The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which is also flawed, but I think does a better job with having their titular character find what he's looking for more organically.