BY CHRISTOPHER STAMM
GUEST MOVIE REVIEWER
Hector and the Search for Happiness (Now showing in theatres)
This film is rated R - not sure why
Hi, everyone - long time no see. I know its been a while, but life is life and it, as we all know, can get hectic. But rest assured, I am still out there in that dark theatre watching the films and, more often than not, shaking my head in disbelief that some of these movies get made.
There have been some bright spots in the cinemas this year, but sadly they are now the exception rather than the rule. Some notables are Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which was spectacular, Godzilla Minus One, and of course, Dune part 2, but those were the stand outs; another decent one would be The Fall Guy.
So while Disney does its best to explain how they hate their audience and the major studios prowl through their basements looking for anything to remake or reboot (plenty of those on the horizon) since they are now officially devoid of any new ideas, I have started doing deep searches for gems that got missed.
And success! I found one for you. Hector and the Search for Happiness, released in 2014, vanished a few days later, and I am here to tell you, this film got a raw deal. Simon Pegg plays Hector, a decent and caring psychiatrist who concludes that he is not helping his patients because he does not understand what happiness is exactly. Much to the chagrin of his long-term girlfriend, Hector decides to hit the road in search of what happiness is and how to achieve it.
Along the way, Hector meets a billionaire businessman who has lost sight of what happiness is, a monk who finds happiness everywhere, a drug dealer who only wants his wife to be healthy and happy, a medical doctor, an African warlord who is baffled at his quest, and a medical researcher who is seeking the chemical reaction to happiness. Along the way, he connects with each, all of whom play a part in helping Hector find happiness, both for himself and for those he loves and cares for.
This one is worth seeking out. It never seems contrived, and its only message is finding your own happiness. And it will have a direct effect on those around you.
Hector and the Search for Happiness has a top-notch cast and we root for Hector on his quest. After all, are we not all in search of happiness?
Now streaming on Amazon Prime, Hector and the Search for Happiness is rated R for some strange reason and I give it a solid four out of five stars. It’s just a damn good movie.
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