Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) leaves law school which he hated. It was pushed on him by his father (Tom Hanks). He decides to write but he needs a paying job. He starts to work for mentalist Buck Howard (John Malkovich) who is famous for being on The Tonight Show 61 times, the one with Johnny Carson. He shakes hands really vigorously and his big trick is finding his money in the audience at the end of the show. When the cynical road manager Alan Berkman (Adam Scott) leaves, Troy takes over. In Cincinnati, they are joined by media publicist Valerie Brennan (Emily Blunt). A misunderstanding leads to a sudden resurgence.
It has some deeper moments but mostly it's a gentle, reverent view of this Buck Howard character. It could have been darker. Colin Hanks' nice everyman gets into the way of that. He's given a needed jolt when Emily Blunt comes in. She really should have stayed in the movie. It's not logical and the movie misses her when she disappears. Malkovich is something else. He is masterful. The only way better is to get an actor pass his prime and Malkovich is definitely not pass his prime. This is a wonderful homage to the old performers.
It has some deeper moments but mostly it's a gentle, reverent view of this Buck Howard character. It could have been darker. Colin Hanks' nice everyman gets into the way of that. He's given a needed jolt when Emily Blunt comes in. She really should have stayed in the movie. It's not logical and the movie misses her when she disappears. Malkovich is something else. He is masterful. The only way better is to get an actor pass his prime and Malkovich is definitely not pass his prime. This is a wonderful homage to the old performers.