The Great Buck Howard

The Great Buck Howard is in love with kitsch, the backwaters of showbiz, and true magic. It's a wee charmer that left me enchanted.

A fine little comedy and a hilarious character study of an ego gone wild.

A small-scale charmer that provides a tailor-made role for Malkovich, who is always fun to watch.

The story is slight and somewhat less than engaging, despite nice supporting turns from Emily Blunt and Ricky Jay.

An affectionate though flawed comedy.

Laughs? Schmaltz? Life lessons? They're all there in Sean McGinly's pleasantly lackadaisical script, but not in such abundance that they seem reason enough to see the film.

The only person who wakes the movie from its slumbers is Emily Blunt. She gets a nothing role as a publicist, and makes something both sultry and casual out of it.

Much more of a Colin Hanks showcase than anything; though it was sneakily billed as a double-act with his father, old man Tom only pops in for about five minutes (literally appearing for a cup of coffee). Late in his schooling, Hanks the Younger discards his father's plans for the future and goes on a quest to find himself, eventually winding up as road manager to a tired, dated, has-been magician with an inferiority complex. John Malkovich is brash and colorful in that role, twisting the bitter old character into something flamboyant, tangible and complicated. Hanks is better than usual, too, and brews up some confusing chemistry with Emily Blunt in a supporting role. Outside of the acting, though, there's very little to praise: the film's tone bounces all over the place in desperate search of a connection. One moment it's quirky and jubilant, the next sappy and melodramatic, no transition. None of the characters really grow or say anything of value; they just pace through life doing what they've always done, waiting for things to happen to them. Even the visual style floats all over the place, blown about on the director's whimsy like an autumn leaf carried away by the wind. Inoffensive, soft and identity-free, I could see some potential bubbling away in this cauldron, but it's been lost in the wash.