Human Nature (2002)

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Men raised as apes. Mannered mice. Women with bad body hair days. Don't expect anything halfway normal in the ironically-titled "Human Nature," the first collaboration between the brilliant Michel Gondry and even more brilliant Charlie Kaufman. Forget style above substance, this is a thinking man's comedy, quirky and utterly hilarious. This film begins with the revelation that Nathan Bronfman (Tim Robbins) is dead, courtesy of a small round bullet hole in his forehead, and somewhere in the afterlife in a room where everything is white. In prison is Lila Jute (Patricia Arquette), and testifying before some Congressional committee is a nattily dressed but strangely bearded man named Puff (Rhys Ifans). Apparently there are issues about being "sorry" that this film will explain, but first we have to get up to speed on how this strange collection of characters came to be strange."Human Nature" is full of brilliant ideas, but the whole touch of the film is less outlandish than the other. Actually, you may say some scenes are direct parody of methods used in classic Hollywood films, and some scenes, especially opening ten minutes, even remind you of films such as "American Beauty" and "A Life Less Ordinary." By saying that, I do not mean the lack of originality; rather, the director Gondry is cleverly challenging us with unique skills shown in these film, deftly using them to his purpose. And the most amusing thing about "Human Nature" is its ever-changing relationships of love between four characters, among which Puff's sadly too human nature plays the most prominent role. Puff also gets most of the good lines, from pointing out at the start that being raised by a man who thinks he is an ape is pretty much the same as actually being raised by apes to his recognition of a stage that exists before a beloved teacher takes a student from crayons to perfume. While not as easy a crowd-pleaser as Kaufman's previous work, "Human Nature" has its fair share of oddball moments. Enough so that anyone looking for another iconoclastic romp will do well enough if they look here.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Weird comedy about a hairy woman, a man who has lived in the jungles like Tarzan, a scientist who is not endowed like most men, and his over-sexed assistant. With the notable exception of the terrific "Being John Malchovich," Writer Kaufman's comedies tend to start out with intriguing premises but run out of steam long before the movie is over. And so it goes with this one, rambling about with an occasional chuckle (Robbins visiting his parents and noticing a little boy at the dinner table), but unable to sustain interest over the long haul. Otto is alluring as a scientist; Arquette with her body covered with hair is not.

Freud stated that all human behavior is determined by primal instincts, such as sex and hunger.Kaufman and Gondry's Human Nature brilliantly explores this notion, and it is a blast to watch.This is one of the funniest, most intelligent films I have ever seen about human relationships...if Woody Allen and Salvador Dali ever collaborated on a film, it would look something like Human Nature.What makes this film so brilliant is that it explores so many intelligent themes, such as American versus French culture, the battle of the sexes, the survival instinct, the dangers of repression and the resultant outbreak of the Id, and yet is able to sustain a lighthearted, surreal sense of humor throughout it all.I believe that the reason this film was not so well-received was because Being John Malkovich was so well-received, that expectations were exceedingly high for Kaufman's follow up film, Human Nature. When Human Nature turned out to be a vastly different film from Being John Malkovich, the critics predictably were not satisfied with the film.Michel Gondry, the director of Human Nature, is a true original, and all of his subsequent films, Eternal Sunshine, Dave Chappelle's Block Party, and the Science of Sleep, are also brilliant.But for me, Human Nature is his best film so far, because it is able to balance the drama and the comedy without one overwhelming the other, as in Eternal Sunshine.

If I were to sum up Human Nature in three words, I would say: screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malckovich). Three other words? Direcctor Michelle Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).Give these two a powerful cast with Patricia Arquette, Tim Robbins and Miranda Otto and you've got yourself a winner. Alas, the real star of the film is Rhys Ifans, who plays the bizarre Puff, a modern-day Tarzan who discovers the human race after decades of wild life. This weird and ironic tale also includes a lonely wolf woman, highly intelligent mice and a man pondering about his life right after his death. Trust me, it doesn't get any better than this.