Review of The Great Buck Howard (2008) by Jason H — 28 Jul 2009

This movie could not have been much different than the first movie I watched tonight (Ballerina). This movie was essentially one big, long tribute to the Amazing Kresgin. I'd seen the Amazing Kresgin growing up on the David Letterman show and he always seemed kinda flaky. That's pretty much what you get with the Amazing Buck Howard.

The story is essentially about a young man who drops out of law school and takes a job as a personal assistant in order to make some cash while he pursues his dream of being a writer. As much as the story looks like it's about him, it really isn't. You never know if he makes it as a writer. He has a love interest, but you never know what happens with that either. All those storylines all fall by the wayside as the movie revolves around Buck Howard.

That does not make this a bad film, it just prevents it from being a very good one. Colin Hanks is pretty good as an everyman, and the scenes with Tom Hanks are especially good, primarily because Tom Hanks is such a good actor. John Malkovich can play a mentalist as good as anyone. He seems just crazy enough for that role.

All in all, it's a good movie. It won't tax your brain too much, and you'll get some laughs out of it, which is probably good enough if you just want to enjoy a summer night in.