The Great Buck Howard – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Jul 25, 2009, 15:12 GMT

Once upon a time, Buck Howard [John Malkovich] spent his days in the limelight as a mentalist extraordinaire! Nowadays, it s clear to everyone except Buck that his act has lost its luster. Convinced his comeback is imminent, Buck needs a new road manager and personal assistant. Recent law school drop-out and would-be writer Troy Gable [Colin Hanks] needs a job and a purpose. Working for the pompous, has-been mentalist ...more

“I love this town!”

Buck Howard has seen better days, but he still thinks of himself as a star.  Who is Buck Howard you say? 

Didn’t you see one of the 61 appearances he had on the Carson show?  In any event, he’s coming to a community center near you.  

Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) is in law school thanks to the wishes of his father (real life dad Tom Hanks).  One day he realizes that he just doesn’t want to be a lawyer, but wants to be a writer, and drops out of school - not telling his father, of course. 

He decides that it might be nice to be able to eat, pay the rent, and have money so he answers an ad in the paper for a road manager. 

He meets agent Gil Bellamy (Ricky Jay) at a restaurant and is introduced to the Great Buck Howard (John Malkovich).  Buck Howard is a mentalist who had his heyday when Johnny Carson was hosting the Tonight Show.  He’s an over-the-top performer who greets everyone with a jackhammer handshake and says “I love this town!” at every venue he plays. 

He’s been reduced to touring community centers and his star in on the wane.  Troy takes the job and is forced into service when the current road manager (Matthew Gray Gubler), who was supposed to be training him, makes Buck mad and is fired.  Buck thinks his star is higher than it really is and is always in anticipation of his comeback. 

He plans to roll out a big event trick in Cincinnati and publicist Valerie Brennan (Emily Blunt) is brought on to promote the big event.  She and Troy begin to get very close, but will the big trick come off or will Buck fizzle out?

Buck Howard is inspired by the career of the similarly named Amazing Kreskin, though Kreskin seems like a nicer fellow than Howard when interviewed on the special features.  Howard, as realized by the talented Malkovich, is a cartoon of a man who puts all his faith in his own stardom, yet he’s the only one who still feels that he’s a star. 

Colin Hanks is his boy Friday who has to do all the menial tasks that Howard demands and he also shines in the role.  Add a little romance with Emily Blunt and you’ve got a delicious soufflé of a film.  I had a delightful time from the beginning to the end. 

I was in a mood when the film started and it did its magic and lifted my spirits with its whimsical tale of faded glory and second chances.  Producer Tom Hanks also peppers the cast with some familiar faces, including his, Steve Zahn, and Griffin Dunne, as well as appearances by the likes of Jay Leno, Regis Philbin, and host of others as Buck’s star fires up again and he makes the talk show rounds. 

It was a wonderful film that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Both Hanks hit a homerun with this one.  

The Great Buck Howard is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Special features include a commentary by writer/director Sean McGinly and Colin Hanks. 

There are also 3 minutes of deleted scenes, 9 minutes of extended scenes, 3 minutes of outtakes, a 9 minute behind-the-scenes featurette, the 4 minute “HDnet: A look at The Great Buck Howard,” and a 5 minute interview with the Amazing Kreskin.  

The Great Buck Howard certainly lives up to his title as the film is a great one.  It’s as enjoyable as an evening out watching the wacky Buck perform his amazing feats of mental acuity.  A wonderful film and character study from beginning to end.  

The Great Buck Howard is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.