What makes people happy? That's the question at hand in Hector and the Search for Happiness, the adaptation of the best-selling novel by French psychiatrist François Lelord, who used his own experiences to inform his work. Starring Simon Pegg as a psychiatrist and Rosamund Pike as his wife, the film from director Peter Chelsom (most recently of the Hannah Montana movie, ugh) looks to strike at the heart of that question - while incorporating Pegg's normal comedic stylings, of course.
But ... does anyone else feel a strong The Secret Life of Walter Mitty vibe here? Because that flop from Ben Stiller last winter was also about a middle-aged white guy traveling to foreign places to learn about happiness. Walter went to Afghanistan; Hector in this trailer goes to China and Africa. Colonial guilt equals middle-aged self-satisfaction? Maybe.
Anyway, Hector and the Search for Happiness comes out September 19. Check out the trailer below and judge the latent fetishization of the Other for yourself.
