The Great Buck Howard |  | Director: Sean McGinly
Actors: John Malkovich, Colin Hanks, Emily Blunt, Tom Hanks, Steve Zahn
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
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Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 28815
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 10192
UPC: 876964001922
EAN: 0876964001922
ASIN: B001VPCINK
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: July 21, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Once upon a time, Buck Howard (John Malkovich) spent his days in thelimelight. His mind-boggling feats as a mentalist extraordinaire notto be confused with those of a mere magician - earned him a marquee actin Vegas and 61 appearances on Johnny Carson s Tonight Show. In his ownhumble opinion, his talents go far beyond simple sleight of hand hecan read minds and hypnotize not just a single soul but |
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Amazon.com
As Buck Howard (John Malkovich) explains in Sean McGinly's funny valentine to the talk show mainstays of yesteryear, he's a mentalist, not a magician. Unlike the brooding protagonists of The Illusionist and The Prestige, Howard doesn't do Harry Houdini-style tricks. Rather, he reads minds, finds hidden objects, and performs other feats that eschew props and assistants. Back in the day, Howard appeared on The Tonight Show 61 times (McGinly based his character on The Amazing Kreskin), but his best years appear to be behind him when he takes on law-school dropout Troy (a low-key Colin Hanks) as his road manager. From the start, Troy finds his temperamental employer fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. Desperate to get back in the limelight, Howard decides to hypnotize several hundred audience members at once. Along with a sassy press agent (Emily Blunt) and two over-enthusiastic venue managers (Steve Zahn and Debra Monk), Troy works with Howard to make it happen. To his surprise, things go both better and worse than expected, and everything changes for the unlikely pair. Produced by Tom Hanks's Playtone banner and featuring the two-time Oscar winner as Toby's disapproving father, The Great Buck Howard follows the rise, fall, and rise template of many Hanks productions (see That Thing You Do!), but McGinly handles a large cast with ease, the laughs are plentiful, the cameos--John Stewart, Conan O’Brien, George Takei, etc.--are a treat, and the unpredictable Malkovich gives his most nuanced performance since, well, Being John Malkovich. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Product Description
Studio: Magnolia Pict Hm Ent Release Date: 07/21/2009 Run time: 90 minutes Rating: Pg
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 20
entertaining! January 1, 2010
English major (Florida)
I had heard great things about this movie and decided to check it out. It's good! It will make you chuckle at times but also has some poignant moments as well. John Malkovich is perfect in the lead role.
 Malkovich's "favorite year" December 17, 2009
Charles R. MacCluer (Williamston, MI United States)
This fine film recalls to mind O'Toole's "My Favorite Year." It follows the travels of an aging mentalist (Malkovich) as he enthusiastically performs before shrinking crowds of aged fans---observed with growing admiration by his road manager, a sceptical young writer (Colin Hanks). Malkovich creates an ode to live performance. The film gives us the same joy as we see the once-famous performer demonstrate that his fame was well deserved.
 Jake La Motta at the fruit stand November 20, 2009
Automated Message (SF)
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Is Hollywood so hard up for movie material that they have to start dredging through bit parts on the Johnny Carson show? This bleak exercise in wishful thinking is the Peter Pan version of "Leaving Las Vegas," Buck Howard a mawkish Gallagher Gump channeling Meryl Streep's Helen Archer aping her Yellow Brick Road monologue at the Swamp Tavern during lockdown.
And, besides, this figment is nothing more than "prodigal son" foreplay. Think about it. Tom Hanks Jr., an actor whose only trick is to open his eyes wide when somebody says "Howdy, doody," hates his father so profusely that he shacks up with a shrivelled sugar daddy, a spent Hamlet in drag, resigned to wash the misanthrope's spoiled trousers by hand. Which makes the conclusion even more bizarre when, back in Waylon Jennings' hometown, we're enthusiastically told that, after all, it's the common Bible-thumper's lust that makes Herr Houdini's spoons bend on time.
Eventually, Chuck Noland shows up looking for his long-lost volleyball, but when he finds it, he's introduced to Buck, and "Chuck and Buck" hilarity ensues. As for the rabid hordes of mentalist fans (as in, "Dude, when that guy's trick didn't work, he went totally mental"), they are never let in on what we know five minutes in: The whole movie's rigged; it's a 90-minute-long trick done with camera angles.
"I Love This Town" ~ Finding Your Money And Finding Where You Belong November 2, 2009
Brian E. Erland (Brea, CA - USA)
Synopsis: Buck Howard (John Malkovich) is a has been magician who's only claim to fame was several appearances on the Tonight Show some twenty odd years or more in the past. No relegated to playing the smallest of venues in small rural towns, he longs for one last shot at the big time and one more appearance on the Tonight Show. Unable to face the fact that he's a small time talent bound for obscurity he blames his lack of success on others; his booking agent (Emily Blunt), his new personal assistant (Colin Hanks) and anyone else within shouting distance. He does however have one special moment in his act he always closes his performance with, it's his signature trick. No one has ever found out exactly how he does it. Could it turn out to be the one thing that might get him another shot at the big time?
Critique; The 2008 film 'The Great Buck Howard' is yet another quirky, off-the-wall story tailor made for the immensely talented John Malkovich. His charm, wit and unique eccentricities are all on display here which in and of themselves make this an enjoyable watch. While his supporting cast is solid, it is unquestionably his one man show and hence the success or failure of this movie rests on his performance. Fortunately for all involved he pulls it off beautifully.
Malkovich has rarely been better October 11, 2009
Roland E. Zwick (Valencia, Ca USA)
"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 during 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.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 20
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