The Great Buck Howard (2008) on Netflix
A law school dropout becomes road manager for the Great Buck Howard, a fading mentalist who tours small venues. A reluctant publicist, Valerie Brennan, meets them in Cincinnati.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb6.4/1015,276 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes71%
Trailer
Plot summary
Troy Gable leaves law school against his father's wishes and moves to Los Angeles to become a writer. To support himself he answers an advertisement for a personal assistant and goes to work for the Great Buck Howard, a mentalist whose fame has faded and who now plays small venues. Buck performed on The Tonight Show many times in his prime and is working toward a comeback, treating his staff harshly along the way. Troy admires Buck's signature trick, in which an audience member hides his fee and Buck finds it. A reluctant publicist, Valerie Brennan, is sent to join them in Cincinnati to promote the comeback, whose details Buck keeps to himself, and she is disgusted by the way Buck speaks to her and to Troy.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Great Buck Howard (2008)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Buck Howard's signature trick has someone in the audience hide his fee for that night's performance, which he then unfailingly discovers; Kreskin is said to have actually performed the feat 6,000 times, only failing to find the money nine times.
- The character Buck Howard is inspired by the real mentalist The Amazing Kreskin, whose popularity was at its height in the 1970s.
