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If Amazing seems to be the first name of Kreskin, "The Great" is the preferred prefix for Buck Howard (John Malkovich).
He's a mentalist -- not a magician -- who claims to read minds but cannot sense or acknowledge the dwindling interest of the public and the press. He appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson 61 times and was a guest of such TV hosts from yesteryear as Dinah Shore, Jim Nabors and John Davidson.
But to Troy Gable (Colin Hanks), Buck's need for a road manager coincides with his need for a paying job after he drops out of law school. In the remarkably efficient opening of "The Great Buck Howard," we meet Troy, understand how law school was never his dream but his father's and watch him spot the newspaper ad for a celebrity performer's assistant.
Troy knows that Buck's glory days are behind him. The entertainer, a flashy but faded dresser with a handshake that looks as if he's pumping well water, has a "cheesy but timeless charm audiences loved," Troy says in the narration. The mentalist hypnotizes a few members of the crowd, plays the piano, reveals the numbers secretly scribbled down by audience members and does a signature trick that involves finding his fee hidden in the audience.
- Starring: John Malkovich, Colin Hanks, Emily Blunt
- Rating: PG for some language including suggestive remarks, and a drug reference
- Web site: greatbuckhowardmovie.com
When Buck announces that he's ready to unveil a secret effect years in the making, he sets the stage for a colossal comeback, a daunting disappointment or, as it turns out, a couple of curveballs and pleasing twists. The movie hits its stride here and then isn't quite sure how or when to get off the stage.
"Buck Howard," from writer-director and law school dropout Sean McGinly, acknowledges the Amazing Kreskin as its inspiration. Once hailed as the world's youngest hypnotist, he became a celebrity performer, author and popular TV guest star whose many predictions included one in December 2007 that Barack Obama would become the next U.S. president.
"Buck Howard" is a gentle, surprisingly enjoyable comedy supported by a strong cast that also includes Emily Blunt as a publicist, Debra Monk and Steve Zahn as ardent fans and Tom Hanks (real-life dad to Colin and one of the movie's producers) as Troy's father.
McGinly and Malkovich make Buck a pompous peacock but passionate and serious about what he does. When he announces, city after city, "I love this town," you believe him. Troy, who is never more a stand-in for McGinly than when he reveals his secret dream to write, wants to do something to make his own heart race.
"Buck Howard" pulls no rabbits out of a hat, just a light look at celebrity -- former, faded and resurgent and those on the fringes of the star-making machinery. By the way, if I'm reading your mind correctly, here's the answer: Amazing Kreskin's birth name was George Kresge Jr.
