The Great Buck Howard

When he was young we knew Colin Hanks, he grew up in Sacramento. His dad came to school plays where both of our kids went. I admired his dad because, when you got to talk to him he seemed to be a regular guy. Colin dated my daughter when she was in high school. When Colin was in high school and made a high school type error his dad took his car away. I admired that.

But his acting career to date has been less than spectacular. In the couple of movies I have seen him in - he was a bit wooden. We enjoyed Orange County but his performance was a lot like the character he was playing. But today we saw him in The Great Buck Howard where he plays opposite John Malcovich. He has come of age as an actor. The movie is about a kid who is forced to go to law school by his dad and then chooses to drop out and be a personal assistant to an aging mentalist who plays out of the way bergs. It is a fun story with some very interesting characters. For the first time on the screen Colin seems to be into his role - without pretensions. His dad, Tom, has a couple of cameos in the movie and their interaction is wonderful, not at all forced.

I wonder why this movie did not get a bigger roll out. It is an engaging story with interesting characters. I would recommend it, highly.