The Great Buck Howard

The Great Buck Howard (2008) starring Colin Hanks, John Malkovich, Emily Blunt, Tom Hanks. Malkovich plays "The Great Buck Howard," a mentalist whose career has been in decline for many years. Colin Hanks stars and narrates as a law student named Troy who quits school to work as road manager for Howard. This movie was reminiscent of "My Favorite Year," another film in which a young protagonist learns life lessons from interacting with a difficult older star who is trying to regain his lost glory. The movie is funny and ultimately moving, with Blunt supplying the romantic interest and Tom Hanks, Colin's real-life father, playing his disapproving film father. The Great Buck Howard is modeled on a real mentalist, Kreskin, who performed many of the same tricks and whose secrets were never uncovered. (The DVD does not offer subtitles in English, but closed captions make up the loss.) Grade: B+