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Synopsis:
Prior to THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD, writer-director Sean McGinly
helmed TWO DAYS, a film that deals with themes of
show-business failure. McGinly treads similar territory
here, but whereas DAYS mixed dark comedy and tense drama in
the internal struggle of a man who merely thinks he's a
failed entertainer, BUCK is a gentle charmer about a
bona-fide washed-up star. When sensible but jaded law
student Troy Gabel (Colin Hanks) decides that school isn't
for him, he takes off without telling his father (Tom Hanks,
whose presence underscores how many mannerisms he and his
real-life son have in common) and looks for the job that
will get him a proverbial foot in the door of the
entertainment industry. In the blink of an eye, Troy finds
himself as road manager for the Great Buck Howard (John
Malkovich), an aging mentalist in the tradition of the
Amazing Kreskin. He may be a corny relic with an act full of
piano interludes and lo-fi theatrics, but he's also pretty
entertaining and genuinely impressive, especially his
signature bit in which he locates his own hidden payment.
He's prone to throwing prima-donna fits and blathering on
about his 61 appearances on THE TONIGHT SHOW while he
regularly performs to half-full rooms; but every time he
screams "I love this town!" to the audiences of Wausau,
Wisconsin, and Bakersfield, California, it becomes
increasingly apparent that he means it. Buck is the best
showcase for Malkovich's hilarious eccentricities since
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH. But seen through the eyes of McGinly's
semi-autobiographical Troy and a perceptive publicist named
Valerie (Emily Blunt), he's more than just a caricature: his
brief, hipster-irony-propelled resurgence as a national
celebrity and the movie's lighthearted satirization of
Hollywood suggest he's the kitschy, infantile heart of every
entertainer.
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