The Amazing Kreskin is a mentalist-thought reader known for his appearances on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson and later on The Late Show With David Letterman, although he makes his real living touring community theaters wowing audiences with a mix of jokes, song interludes and feats of mental dexterity that astonished believers and led to calls of trickery from the cynics. Writer/director Sean McGinly served as Kreskin’s road manager for a brief stint and has converted his experiences into The Great Buck Howard, an insider’s look at show business that manages to show the business and hold onto a bit of the magic.
With pinpoint performances from John Malkovich and Colin Hanks, The Great Buck Howard offers a sentimental look inside from the perspective of someone with genuine love of the game because McGinly never reveals a single trick in the mentalist’s repertoire. Grade: B
Cincinnati World Cinema screens The Great Buck Howard at 3 p.m. April 26 and 7:30 p.m. April 27-28 at The Redmoor in Mount Lookout Square. Get ticket/program details and see the film's trailer here.
