The Great Buck Howard

In The Great Buck Howard, John Malkovich plays the title character as a once hugely popular mentalist now reduced to playing small venues in the hinterlands. Of course, he still thinks of himself, and acts like the huge star he once was, a star big enough to have appeared on The Tonight Show 61 times, with Johnny Carson of course. Colin Hanks plays Troy Gable, a law school dropout and aspiring writer who signs on as Buck's road manager, and somehow manages to deal with Buck's abuse while making a little money at the same time. Mr. Malkovich plays Buck as a guy whose cultural references stopped somewhere around 1985, and he still brags that he co-hosted the Dinah Shore show for a week. He longs to get back on top, and it's also obvious that he loves what he does, in spite of his occasional bursts of anger directed at Troy. His plan is to stage a big event in Cincinnati, which he confidently expects will re-launch him into the big-time once again. In spite of the abuse Buck heaps upon Troy, and others, it's also obvious that Troy admires and respects Buck, and their relationship is a key reason for the success of this film. Buck may be completely self-centered and obnoxious, but he does have a certain sweetness and innocence about him, and he only reinforces to Troy the importance of loving what you do. Mr. Malkovich, whose character is based on The Amazing Kreskin, does a wonderful job in capturing Buck, although I could have done without the goofy and exaggerated handshake they gave him. We get the point without it. Colin Hanks, yes, Tom's son, takes Buck's abuse with just the right amount of respect and understanding. Tom has a few brief scenes as Troy's disappointed dad, and he uses his time with him to try to push him back into law school. By that time Troy has spent too much time with a man who genuinely loves his work to ever consider that. This film has just the right mixture of comedy and pathos, with a few lessons thrown in. The film is in a very limited release as of this writing, and if it does come to "a theater near you" you might be amazed at how much you enjoy it.

Rating - 3 Stars