Albert, he and Dawn meet with and are influenced by Bernard and Vivian. In the following days, Brad and Dawn rethink their entire lives: she rejects the modeling world, looking for deeper meaning, while he realizes his whole ascent up the corporate ladder is meaningless, as he has focused his whole life on trying to please others and not himself. All the storylines collide when Brad's house catches fire. While the fire trucks get stuck in a traffic jam, Tommy arrives on his bicycle to put out the fire, which also trapped Dawn inside. As he saves her life, they fall in love. Meanwhile, Brad despairs at the destruction of his home, the symbol of his material success. Albert attains a sort of enlightenment when he synthesizes the two opposing outlooks of the Jaffes and Caterine to realize the cosmic truth of everything. Brad, meanwhile, is fired from Huckabees, leaving him rudderless. Albert reveals to him that the fire started when he burned Brad's jet skis, then it spread to the rest of the house. He says they are no different, that everything really is inextricably connected, but that these connections necessarily arise from the often senselessly painful reality of human existence. Having realized this, he refers Brad to Caterine, believing she can help him as she did Albert and Tommy. Albert and Tommy talk later about everything that has happened. Caterine and the Jaffes watch them from afar, concluding they can close both of their cases. Cast Dustin Hoffman as Bernard Jaffe Isabelle Huppert as Caterine Vauban Jude Law as Brad Stand Jason Schwartzman as Albert Markovski Lily Tomlin as Vivian Jaffe Mark Wahlberg as Tommy Corn Naomi Watts as Dawn Campbell Ger Duany as Stephen Nimieri Isla Fisher as Heather Sydney Zarp as Cricket Hooten Jonah Hill as Bret Hooten Richard Jenkins as Mr. Hooten (uncredited) Darlene Hunt as Darlene Kevin Dunn as Marty Benny Hernandez as Davy Richard Appel as Josh Benjamin Nurick as Harrison Jake Muxworthy as Tim Tippi Hedren as Mary Jane Hutchinson Altagracia Guzman as Mrs. Echevarria Saïd Taghmaoui as Translator Bob Gunton as Mr. Silver Talia Shire as Mrs. Silver Jean Smart as Mrs. Hooten Shania Twain as herself The film features the screen debuts of Jonah Hill (in a minor role) and Ger Duany. Production Before directing his first feature, Spanking the Monkey, Russell intended to make a film "about a guy