The Great Buck Howard (2008)

A young man, much to the chagrin of his father, becomes the new assistant to an illusionist in decline.

Director:

Sean McGinly

Writer:

Sean McGinly

Stars:

John Malkovich, Colin Hanks, Emily Blunt

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Malkovich	...	Buck Howard
Colin Hanks	...	Troy Gable
Emily Blunt	...	Valerie Brennan
Ricky Jay	...	Gil Bellamy
Steve Zahn	...	Kenny
Tom Hanks	...	Mr. Gable
Griffin Dunne	...	Jonathan Finerman
Debra Monk	...	Doreen
Adam Scott	...	Alan Berkman
Patrick Fischler	...	Michael Perry
Wallace Langham	...	Dan Green
Jonathan Ames	...	Edward Kelly
Jacquie Barnbrook	...	Sheila Heller
Paul Darricarrere	...	Restaurant Manager
Terry Scannell	...	Kip

Storyline

When a law school dropout answers an advertisement to be a personal assistant he unknowingly signs on to work for a belligerent has-been magician struggling to resurrect his career. This leads to a journey across the country staging the comeback of a lifetime.

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Plot Keywords:

comeback | career | law school dropout | personal assistant | magician | 

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Taglines:

Get ready for the comeback of a lifetime.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some language including suggestive remarks, and a drug reference

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Official site [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 June 2009 (Latvia)

Also Known As:

A Mente que Mente

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$115,004 (USA) (20 March 2009)

Gross:

$748,363 (USA) (3 July 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bristol Bay Productions, Playtone, Great Buck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of "Troy Gabel" is based on director Sean McGinly's experiences as road manager for The Amazing Kreskin, on which The Great Buck Howard is loosely based.

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Goofs

The scene with the mass hypnosis, supposedly in Cincinnatti, is clearly in the main lobby of the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles. The banner with Placedo Domingo's name is even clearly seen hanging outside.

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Quotes

Troy Gable: Dad, what are you doing here?
Mr. Gable: I was gonna ask you the same question.

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Connections

Edited from The Jerry Springer Show (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Telling the Truth and Going Away"
Written, Produced and Performed by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

User Reviews

have to disagree with the boring comments

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.