Susan Granger’s review of “The Great Buck Howard” (Magnolia Pictures)
Inspired by the career of world-renowned mentalist, the Amazing Kreskin, this is the story of naïve, wannabe writer Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) who drops out of law school – to the chagrin of his disapproving father (Tom Hanks) – and becomes the long-suffering road manager/personal assistant to The Great Buck Howard (John Malkovich), an aging, eccentric stage entertainer who is struggling to resurrect his career, the highlight of which was his 61 appearances on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson. This leads to a cross-country journey with stops in small towns like Bakesfield, Willamette, Leesburg, Akron and Cincinnati. The best part is Buck’s staging the comeback stunt of a lifetime, but there are also detours that include Troy’s brief but engaging romantic liaison with Buck’s brassy ‘substitute’ publicist (Emily Blunt) from New York and encounters in the limelight with magician David Blaine, Jon Stewart, Martha Stewart, George Takai (Sulu on the original “Star Trek”), Tom Arnold, Gary Coleman, Conan O’Brien, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa. And Troy learns life lessons every step of the way.
So how does the ‘real’ Amazing Kreskin feel about this cinematic version of his life, including his personal loathing of Johnny Carson’s successor, Jay Leno, and his signature ‘hide-and-seek’ trick in which audience members hide his nightly stash of cash?
“I could not have asked for a better actor to play me than John Malkovich,” Kreskin says. “He is an incomparable talent who seamlessly embodied the essence of who I am.”
Indeed, Malkovich has never been more engaging or accessible. Currently appearing on Broadway in “33 Variations,” opposite Jane Fonda, Colin Hanks is amiable and having his real-life dad, Tom Hanks, play his authoritarian father is also a plus, as are ‘local yokel’ bits from Debra Monk and Steve Zahn.
Writer/director Sean McGinley fictionalizes when necessary while earnestly and adroitly telling a bemused and bittersweet story. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Great Buck Howard” is a poignant, gently satiric 6, capturing the utter desperation of a fading celebrity.
