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| Plot | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2>
Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) defies his father (Tom Hanks) and leaves law school to pursue his dream of becoming a writer in Los Angeles. To support himself, he takes a job as a road manager for "The Great" Buck Howard (John Malkovich), a fading mentalist. Troy comes to enjoy traveling with Buck to performances in smaller venues such as Bakersfield and Akron. In particular, Troy sincerely admires Buck's signature trick: having someone in the audience hide his fee for that night's performance, which he then unfailingly discovers. (Kreskin is said to have actually performed this feat 6,000 times, only failing to find the money nine times.)[3]
A reluctant publicist, Valerie Brennan (Emily Blunt), is sent to join them in Cincinnati as a replacement for a more senior colleague to promote Buck's still secret attempt to resurrect his career. Valerie is disgusted by Buck's verbal abuse towards her and Troy, with whom she becomes romantically involved. Buck reveals that his comeback will involve putting "hundreds" of people (actually only a few dozen) to sleep and then awakening them as if from the dead. The trick works, but despite a large press turnout, no one is there to record the act, since the news media is called away at the last second to cover a car accident involving Jerry Springer. Furious, Buck unfairly blames the mishap on Troy and Valerie, and then faints from exhaustion. In the hospital, Buck and Troy discover that the media absence actually worked in Buck's favor, as rumors reported by the news media exaggerate the scope of Buck's act; as a result, Buck returns to the limelight as a retro-"hip" phenomenon. He appears on television shows such as those of Jon Stewart, Regis Philbin, Conan O'Brien, and more. Buck is reunited with his estranged friend, George Takei, who sings "What the World Needs Now".
Buck finally gets the call he has been waiting for: To perform once again on The Tonight Show. He previously had performed with Johnny Carson 61 times during the height of his career, but never since the show has been hosted by Jay Leno. Buck is bumped by Tom Arnold, who has too much material and uses up Buck's time. Buck refuses an immediate offer to come back and appear on The Tonight Show the following week, but agrees to receive an offer to headline a date in Las Vegas. When the limelight on Buck dims once more after he fails to find his money for the first time ever during his Las Vegas premiere, Troy leaves him and through Valerie's connections, lands him a job with a celebrated TV writer (Griffin Dunne). After some time, Troy sees from an ad in the paper that Buck is doing his show again in Bakersfield. Buck is clearly back where he feels most comfortable, and once again successfully performs his signature trick, leaving Troy to wonder whether Buck doesn't have some mysterious talent after all.
[edit] Tags:Sean Mcginly,Tom Hanks,Rita Wilson,Gary Goetzman,John Malkovich,Colin Hanks,Emily Blunt,Blake Neely,Tak Fujimoto,Playtone,Walden Media,Bristol Bay Productions,Comedy-drama Film,Mentalist,The Amazing Kreskin,2008 Sundance Film Festival,Magnolia Pictures,Law School,Los Angeles,Bakersfield,Akron,Kreskin,Cincinnati,Jerry Springer,Jon Stewart,Regis Philbin,Conan O'brien,George Takei,What The World Needs Now,The Tonight Show,Johnny Carson,Jay Leno,Tom Arnold,Las Vegas,Griffin Dunne,Ricky Jay,Steve Zahn,Matthew Gray Gubler,Debra Monk,Adam Scott,Patrick Fischler,Wallace Langham,Don Most,Nathan Hartley,Wendy Worthington,Oregon,Paul Simon,Dave Attell,Gary Coleman,Michael Winslow,Jack Carter,Martha Stewart,Damien Fahey,David Blaine,Kelly Ripa,Mary Hart,Rotten Tomatoes, | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Cast | 2>
John Malkovich as Buck Howard
Colin Hanks as Troy Gable
Emily Blunt as Valerie Brennan
Ricky Jay as Gil Bellamy
Steve Zahn as Kenny the limo driver
Tom Hanks as Mr. Gable
Griffin Dunne as Johnathan Finerman
Matthew Gray Gubler as Russell
Debra Monk as Doreen
Adam Scott as Alan Berkman
Patrick Fischler as Michael Perry
Wallace Langham as Dan Green
Don Most (aka "Donny Most") as Tonight Show Producer
Nathan Hartley as Teenager
Wendy Worthington as Oregon woman
Paul Simon (uncredited) as Grateful old performer
Dave Attell (uncredited) as Comedian
Portraying themselves
Gary Coleman
Michael Winslow
Jack Carter
Martha Stewart
Damien Fahey
Conan O'Brien
Jon Stewart
David Blaine
Regis Philbin
Kelly Ripa
George Takei
Mary Hart
Jay Leno
Tom Arnold
[edit] | Tags: Reception | 2>
The Great Buck Howard received generally positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 72% of critics gave it positive reviews based on 88 reviews, the consensus being "By turns fluffy and biting, this show biz comedy is given girth by comic heavyweight John Malkovich and made all the more charming by Emily Blunt.".[4] The movie was released to the general public on March 20, 2009, grossing $115,004 in the opening weekend. It was run in 55 theaters, equaling to an average of $2,091 per theater. As of June 21, the worldwide gross stands at $790,195.[5]
[edit] | Tags: Home media | 2>
A single-disc DVD and Blu-ray version of the film were released on July 21, 2009.[citation needed]
[edit] | Tags: References | 2>
^ Play dates for The Great Buck Howard at Magnolia Pictures
^ "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Competition" (pdf). November 11, 2007. http://www.sundance.org/festival/press_industry/releases/pdf/2008_SFF_Announces_Films_In_Competition.pdf. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
^ United Airlines in-flight entertainment guide, August 2009.
^ "The Great Buck Howard". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1189629-the_great_buck_howard/. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatbuckhoward.htm
[edit] | Tags: External links | 2>
Official website
The Great Buck Howard at the Internet Movie Database
The Great Buck Howard at AllRovi
The Great Buck Howard at Box Office Mojo
The Great Buck Howard at Rotten Tomatoes
The Great Buck Howard at Magnolia Pictures
v
t
e
Tom Hanks
Director
That Thing You Do! (1996)
Larry Crowne (2011)
Screenwriter
That Thing You Do! (1996)
From the Earth to the Moon (1998, 4 episodes)
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D (2005)
Larry Crowne (2011)
Producer
Cast Away (2000)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Connie and Carla (2004)
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D (2005)
Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006)
The Ant Bully (2006)
Starter for 10 (2006)
Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
The Great Buck Howard (2008)
City of Ember (2008)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Larry Crowne (2011)
Executive producer
The Polar Express (2004)
Evan Almighty (2007)
Mamma Mia! (2008)
My Life in Ruins (2009)
Television
From the Earth to the Moon (1998)
Band of Brothers (2001)
My Big Fat Greek Life (2003)
The Pacific (2010)
Big Love (2006–2011)
Production company
Playtone
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Great_Buck_Howard&oldid=470748231"
Categories: 2008 filmsEnglish-language filmsAmerican films2000s comedy filmsAmerican comedy films2000s comedy-drama filmsFilms about magic and magiciansIndependent filmsPlaytone filmsHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statementsArticles with unsourced statements from January 2011
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| Tags: Sean Mcginly,Tom Hanks,Websites related to: Amazing Kreskin Amazing Kreskin |