The Great Buck Howard

This caught my attention last week on HBO, and I will state that is is rare for me, The Jester, to never have heard of a film. No matter how small, indie, or low budget it may be. I pride myself on accepting and remembering everything I hear or see. The hard part for me on this one is the cast. Usually names like Hanks (Tom or Colin), Malkovich, and Zahn would grab my attention in any headline. Then add the beauty of Emily Blunt and we have ourselves a reason to not move for 90 minutes. This is the story of Troy Gable as he steps into the road manager position for an anal retentive entertainer/ mentalist named Buck Howard. The Great Buck Howard to be exact. That is his moniker and try not to forget it. Buck is eccentric to say the least. If it is not done his way, then you best not be around when he notices. To be his road manager is the most stressful job Troy has ever had, and he was going to law school. He needed something new, and this thing just happened. He gets to travel around the country, making sure the star is happy. Not to easy. He works for a hack. At least that is most people's opinion of him. As I was watching this, I found myself pondering about this man. Buck Howard? Who the hell is that? I wanna say the film is based in 2006 or thereabout. There is no way I would not know or have heard of Buck Howard. Actually I found out this supposed "bio-pic" is based on a man by the name of The Amazing Kreskin. Troy puts up with all Buck's crap, travels non stop with him, and tries not to screw up too badly. Even this is better than being miserable in law school. The highlight of the film comes early on when Colin's real life Father, Tom Hanks, shows up as Troy's Father. Great scene. Just as Troy is reassessing his decision, they get to Cincinnati, and things change. He meets a publicist form NYC named Valerie (Blunt) they pal around for the weekend as she promotes Buck and they hit it off. At this point, any regrets he may have had were gone, because of this moment. We see Buck's performance several times in the film, and Malkovich is wonderful as always. I think more than anything that this is just a fun, sometimes uncomfortable film to watch any day of the week. It boils down to one man's struggle to figure out his life, and then there is Troy.

NBM rates The Great Buck Howard - Awesome