This is a movie for those of us who appreciate black, discomforting humor, the kind of humor that acknowledges both the morbid and absurd dimensions of life; as such, it follows along a path blazed by other such dark films as IF, SWEETIE, HAPPINESS, WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, BLUE VELVET, THE CABLE GUY, THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE, as well as the brilliant documentaries of Errol Morris and Fredrick Wiseman, to name just a few.
It's also my favorite movie of the year so far.
CHUCK AND BUCK's dark edge comes squarely from the character of Buck, brilliantly played by Mike White. Buck is something of the anti-Forest Gump; whereas Tom Hanks' character, in keeping with Hollywood's grandiose tendency to mythologize, is meant to be a deeply wise and insightful figure, in spite of his outward appearance. We are meant to love and to respect Forrest Gump. White's Buck, here, is simply outright disturbed, and disturbing, and all the more interesting because of it. Playing a confused manchild in his late 20s who reenters the life of his one time playmate, whom he then weirds-out and won't stop bothering, the story eventually explodes as the sexual tension between the two characters draws them together once again. We neither love, nor respect, Buck, but we can't stop watching him - not for a second.
Some of the other, relatively minor, characters, more or less accept Buck as he is; they tend to be funny and interesting. Seeing CHUCK AND BUCK will make you wonder about what ever became of the misfit kids you once knew in childhood. Perhaps they, too, never quite grew up or grew out of it. Perhaps they're out there somewhere making films...
It's also my favorite movie of the year so far.
CHUCK AND BUCK's dark edge comes squarely from the character of Buck, brilliantly played by Mike White. Buck is something of the anti-Forest Gump; whereas Tom Hanks' character, in keeping with Hollywood's grandiose tendency to mythologize, is meant to be a deeply wise and insightful figure, in spite of his outward appearance. We are meant to love and to respect Forrest Gump. White's Buck, here, is simply outright disturbed, and disturbing, and all the more interesting because of it. Playing a confused manchild in his late 20s who reenters the life of his one time playmate, whom he then weirds-out and won't stop bothering, the story eventually explodes as the sexual tension between the two characters draws them together once again. We neither love, nor respect, Buck, but we can't stop watching him - not for a second.
Some of the other, relatively minor, characters, more or less accept Buck as he is; they tend to be funny and interesting. Seeing CHUCK AND BUCK will make you wonder about what ever became of the misfit kids you once knew in childhood. Perhaps they, too, never quite grew up or grew out of it. Perhaps they're out there somewhere making films...