The Great Buck Howard (2008)

I really don't want to criticize this movie too much. So many people involved in this movie are people that I genuinely like. And I think that's true for nearly all of us; we like great talents like John Malkovich, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn and Tom Hanks. Good people who have given us great work.

In this case, the real problem is that this is a boring story. I sat through the entire film with my wife and a packed house, and there was much squirming all around. There was something very amateurish about the movie, as far as the direction and writing, and it was terribly predictable. My wife said, "Why would they make this movie? It was so boring!" I wanted to disagree, because I'd give it a three while she gives it a q, but the truth is that this was like watching a bunch of people you like not have a good time.

Malkovich does his best to make his character more interesting than written, as does Emily Blunt who has the misfortune of being thrown in randomly and forced to do things just for the sake of story. Steve Zahn, who is always good, struggles to make his dull material interesting. In the end, they were all fighting against the same problem. This is a simple story with no conflict or tension or drama or comedy that telegraphs itself every step of the way. The characters are underwritten and uninteresting, and we're left with talented actors doing their best with weak material.

I would not recommend seeing this movie, even for free. It's not worth the time you need to invest. And I really wish that I didn't have to say that, because I really wanted to like this movie.

Fmovies: This film is about a young man who quits law school to become the assistant to a waning mentalist performer.

"The Great Buck Howard" has a unconventional beginning, with coloured subtitles helping to get points across. It is a fun way to start a film, yet the rest of the film has a vastly different tone.The title character Buck Howard is an unpleasant and mean guy, and yet somehow he strikes a chord with the viewers. He makes me sympathise with his misfortunes, and feel sad that his amazing acts get overlooked by the public and the press. I wanted Buck Howard to succeed in his tricks, even though he is unpleasant to work with.

I enjoyed watching "The Great Buck Howard".

What happens to famous people when their popularity dies out? If this intrigues you I would recommend you go sit down and watch The Great Buck Howard. It stars Colin Hanks, John Malkovich, Emily Blunt, and features Tom Hanks in a comedy about just that question.

The beginning of the film almost started off exactly like Orange County, another film starring Colin Hanks. Here he plays Troy, law student who has decided that becoming a lawyer just isn't what he was cut out to do. So he does what every young man decides at some point in his life to do: write. That's about the extent of the comparison to Orange County. The rest of the film is nothing like it (and that's a good thing).

Since writing doesn't quite pay the bills, he finds a job working on the road for the Great Buck Howard, played marvelously by Malkovich. Buck is not a magician but a mentalist. He appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 61 times, but since then hasn't done much. He now plays small town theaters across the country.

Hanks doesn't know anything about show business but soon learns that life with Buck can be both rewarding and degrading. After tearing through town after town, Hanks falls into a grove until his father, played by his real father Tom Hanks, catches wind that he left school to work for Buck. He is disappointed to say the least and nearly gets Colin to quit, but Howard manages to keep him on for his secret trick (or as Howard refers to them as "effects") to take place in Cincinnati, Ohio.

It is there we meet Hanks' love interest in PR girl Valerie (Emily Blunt). Buck is paraded around town by a pair of simple folk (Debra Monk and Steve Zahn) who try to make him feel as welcome possible. In doing so they nearly ruin the entire event. The rest of the film follows Buck and Troy as they try to resurrect Buck's career and bring him back to the Tonight Show and eventually Vegas.

This is a cute little film that has a lot of heart. Malkovich puts on a great performance as the aging mentalist, giving the character a much developed personality and history. We can see that years on the road have turned this man into somewhat of a nut job, but he can still put on a great show.

The script doesn't waver. Writer/director Sean McGinly does a fine job for his first big production. There is nothing flashy going on here. Just a basic film with an above average story. That's all I expected from this film. I knew Tom Hanks wouldn't put his name on just anything (he produces the film).

I don't see this film making too much of a splash. There's nothing really here that makes me say "wow!" Malkovich is probably the best part of the film, as well as the story. I wouldn't go out of my way to see it, but I'm glad I got to. I also look forward for more of McGinly's work. It looks like he has a knack for storytelling.

The Great Buck Howard fmovies. I think the film would have been great if they cast someone besides Colin Hanks. He is undeniably mediocre in this role. He performance is flat and drab and when I see him perform I can not help but think how much better the scene would be if someone else starred. I don't have a problem with this kid trying to cut his teeth in acting but do we all have to watch him learn to act on film. Seriously does Colin's dad Tom Hanks have to manufacture films just so his kid can have and acting career. I know Hollywood is nothing more than nepotism as a business but when the actor really doesn't cut it it's all the more insulting to the public and shame on the director for not trying to get more out of him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I am not a huge Malcovich fan. Enjoyed him in "In the line of Fire", but not a whole lot else. He was excellent in this movie though. I would say in fact, that most all of the casting was excellent. Colin Hank was wonderful, very believable.

The film was very clean as well. Almost no foul language, no nudity, even for the obligatory love interest.

Two wonderful plot points (though not a spoiler) - Also, wonderful ongoing tension with George Takai that was neatly addressed in the end. This was nicely done and an interesting possible allusion to Wm Shatner's humorous attempts at singing. Opening credits are hilarious with the "you want to be a lawyer" vignette.

In many ways, one might say Buck Howard's character is a blend of Ed Wood and Wm Shatner. I will be interested to see what other people write in the coming months. Take the time to watch it though. I don't think you will be disappointed.

"The Great Buck Howard" is a near-perfect faux biopic that will have you grinning from ear to ear for ninety euphoric minutes. John Malkovich plays the title character, an ego-driven mentalist loosely based on the Amazing Kreskin. We're told that Buck had the moniker "Great" bestowed on him by none other than the late Johnny Carson himself after the magician appeared on the Tonight Show sixty-one times in the heyday of his career. The humorously named Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) is the law student (and narrator of the tale) who takes a pass on a promising career as an attorney to serve as Buck's road manager, a move that causes great consternation for the young man's father, nicely played in a cameo appearance by Colin's real-life dad, Tom Hanks.

Part inveterate con man, part grandiose showman and part purveyor of down home wisdom and folksiness, Buck Howard turns out to be the perfect instructor for a young man eager to become wise in the ways of human nature. Howard is what P.T. Barnum would have been had he been reduced to playing smaller venues, an entertainer par excellence who really knows how to work his audience for ego-gratification and profit - in short, a figure as uniquely American as the lone frontiersman or trailblazing entrepreneur. Howard probably believes only half of what he's selling, but it is that half that keeps him going in the face of declining popularity and ever-dwindling crowds. For Howard is just shy of turning into a has-been when, as if by magic, he finds himself unexpectedly mounting a full court media comeback.

A satirical and affectionate paean to the world of show biz and the bizarre creatures that inhabit it, "The Great Buck Howard" boasts a witty, flavorful script and stylish direction by the multi-talented Sean McGinly. The movie also features a lovely performance by Emily Blunt as a publicist and Troy's potential love interest, while a number of well known celebrities - John Stewart, Regis and Kathy Lee (or is it Kelly?), Conan O'Brien, George Takei and Tom Arnold among them - make brief appearances as themselves.

But it is Malkovich who grabs the material by the horns and runs with it. With his every gesture and facial expression, Malkovich turns the Great Buck Howard into a savvy combination of egotism, bravado, humility and pathos. One minute he's an impossible slave-driver, the next a paternalistic mentor - one minute a clear-eyed pragmatist, the next a dewy-eyed visionary and sentimentalist. It is Malkovich's ability to seamlessly meld all these contradictory traits into an instantly recognizable and utterly lovable character that ultimately makes "The Great Buck Howard" the richly entertaining experience it is.