Troy (Hanks the younger), a recent law school dropout, becomes the road manager for washed-up mentalist The Great Buck Howard (Malkovich), best known for his “61 appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” Howard’s big comeback in Cincinnati is overshadowed by a traffic accident involving Jerry Springer, and his subsequent freak-out catapults him back into the limelight before it all falls apart.
Movie is cute and funny at times, but overall insubstantial. Hanks is charmingly befuddled, but lacks some of his father’s charisma (made more evident by Tom’s appearance as Troy’s father). Blunt is sarcastic and cute per usual. Also, it’s nice seeing Malkovich show some of his range, getting a role that doesn’t involve him being constantly angry. My big problem with the movie is that, with as much as Troy is supposed to learn from Howard, Troy never really gets involved in Howard’s life. Troy narrates the movie, and that same detachedness seems to apply to his interactions with the mentalist, making it just ring hollow. Incidental music is provided by indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. A somewhat charming but disappointing movie.
