Review of The Great Buck Howard (2008) by Brendan R — 11 Jul 2010
The Great Buck Howard is a decent movie. It?s nothing amazing, but it?s not bad either. The film tells the story of Troy (Hanks), a soon-to-be lawyer who realizes he hates the law and would never want to work as a lawyer. He decides to try and find himself (to perhaps be a writer) and ends up working for Mentalist and aging showman The Great Buck Howard, who appeared many times on Johnny Carson?s The Late Show, but never in the last ten years.
It?s a warm character study in which the enigmatic older (tor)mentor provides crucial exposure and life experience for the younger seeker of life and its joys. Like I said, not bad. A couple other thoughts:
* They have an appearance from Ricky Jay in a small role. But they don?t do enough with it. Steve Zahn gets a better slice of the pie, and a ridiculous mustache.
* How come Mentalists are everywhere these days? Three or four years ago, it seems like I?d never heard of cold reading or mentalism?now they?re everywhere. Well, probably not EVERYWHERE, but many places. Like sand after the beach.
* I have to confess a sympathy for Troy. He?s a likeable everyman, reminiscent of his dad in that way, who goes all bildungsroman on us. And he likes the corny old showmanship of Buck Howard. I suspect I would too.
* There?s a nice little surprise moment when Buck hosts a charity event with a bunch of older performers, including Gary Coleman. It?s just a little startling to see him there.
* John Malkovich plays the role perfectly, affecting both humble showman and diva at the same time.
All that said, the dramatic arc on the movie is pretty low. The stakes for Buck are somewhat higher, but given Troy?s ?figure out what to do with my life? approach, we have trouble caring too much for the travails of Buck Howard. And as much as we might like him, at best we like and perhaps feel a little sorry for him. Perhaps its the low story arc that makes it difficult to say I like this movie with too much enthusiasm?there?s no enthusiasm there to latch on to.
This review of The Great Buck Howard (2008) was written by Brendan R on 11 Jul 2010.
The Great Buck Howard has generally received positive reviews.
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