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Film Review: ‘Hector and the Search for Happiness’ a slow, empty quest

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In “Hector and the Search for Happiness,” Hector (Simon Pegg) is a psychiatrist with a touch of Walter Mitty in him. He daydreams about being a WWI pilot, but other than the need for this little indulgence in childhood fancy, he seems to have an ideal life. He’s financially well off with a thriving practice. At least some of his patients have interesting neuroses. And he lives in a lovely home with the even lovelier Clara (Rosamund Pike), whose career in public relations is soaring.

And yet Hector has a problem. It’s not precisely that he’s unhappy. It’s that he has no way of knowing. What, after all, is happiness? He is suddenly struck by the sheer vagueness of the word. Charles Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts”, assured us many years ago that happiness is a warm puppy, and I for one would never dispute that. The 40-ish title character in “Hector and the Search for Happiness” is presumably too young to know about that, and, besides, it does seem a bit on the simplistic side.

So our hero decides to go on a quest. He wants to ask a broad sample of people whether they consider themselves to be happy, in hopes of discovering just what that word really means. With ambivalent support from Clara, he bids farewell and heads for China.
The film follows his adventures from glitzy urban Shanghai to a remote monastery in the mountains, to Africa, and finally to (of all places) Los Angeles. In Shanghai, he is escorted through the city’s night life by a knowingly cynical businessman (Stellan Skarsgard, in the movie’s subtlest performance). The monastery, he learns, isn’t quite as cut off from the modern world as he might have thought. In Africa, his guide is his old school buddy Michael (Barry Atsma), who has found his place in the world doing relief work.

His trip to Los Angeles is not so much because of the many virtues of our fair megalopolis as it is a journey into his past. It’s where his first great love, Agnes (Toni Colette), now lives. She has, like any mature human being, long since gotten on with her life; and, while she welcomes Hector, she also knows he’s flown in on the wings of a very common fantasy.
For someone with a medical degree, Hector — very intelligent on paper — comes across as a bit of a dolt about the world. Of course, this means he — and, by association, the audience — will learn the sort of life lessons that movies love to dispense.

All along, Hector is taking notes, which are occasionally displayed on-screen for our edification. The whole film moves along at a pokey pace, though it perks up in Africa, where Hector experiences real unhappiness. (It doesn’t hurt that Jean Reno, as a gruff drug kingpin, gives the energy a boost.)
Despite Pegg’s generally likable persona, it’s not hard to get a little impatient with Hector and consequently with the film. His newfound insights regarding happiness aren’t much better than greeting-card affirmations. Of course, we don’t expect a two-hour light entertainment to answer one of the world’s most eternally elusive questions. But, by the end, Hector doesn’t seem much changed. Virtually all the people he meets on the road have more on the ball than he is ever likely to achieve.

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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).

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