The Great Buck Howard

As John Malkovich's Buck Howard explains in writer-director Sean McGinly's funny valentine to the talk show mainstays of yesteryear, he's a mentalist, not a magician (McGinly based his character on the Amazing Kreskin). Unlike the brooding protagonists of The Illusionist or The Prestige (played, respectively, by Edward Norton and Christian Bale), Howard doesn't perform Harry Houdini-style tricks. Rather, he reads minds, finds hidden objects, and performs other feats, all the while eschewing props and comely assistants. Howard also boasts that he has appeared on The Tonight Show 61 times, but his best years appear to be behind him in The Great Buck Howard, as he takes on law-school dropout Troy (a low-key Colin Hanks) as his road manager. From the beginning, Troy finds his temperamental employer fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. Desperate to get back in the limelight, Howard decides to hypnotize several hundred audience members at once. Aided by a sassy press agent (Emily Blunt) and two overenthusiastic venue managers (Steve Zahn and Debra Monk), Troy works with Howard to make this momentous event happen, but things go both better and worse than expected, changing everything for the unlikely pair. Co-produced by Tom Hanks (who also costars as Troy's disapproving father), The Great Buck Howard follows the familiar rise, fall, and rise template of many Hanks productions (such as That Thing You Do!), but McGinly handles the large cast with ease, the laughs are plentiful, the cameos (from Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, and especially Star Trek's George Takei) are a treat, and the unpredictable Malkovich gives his most nuanced performance since, well, Being John Malkovich. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary with writer-director Sean McGinly and star Colin Hanks, extended scenes (10 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (10 min.), an HDNet segment on the film (6 min.), an interview with “The Amazing Kreskin” George Kresge (5 min.), deleted scenes (3 min.), outtakes (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid film.] (K. Fennessy)