Even Malkovich magic can't find film's energy

A mainstay of '70s television, "The Amazing Kreskin" found an eager audience as a popular "mentalist" with a nerdy act involving card tricks, audience participation and, most famously, a closing routine in which he would locate the paycheck for his performance, hidden among the audience while he was blindfolded or secluded offstage.

Kreskin is still performing today, and his intriguing skills have never been discredited.

An affectionate tribute to Kreskin, "The Great Buck Howard," wants to be similarly engaging, and it floats along with a lightly mocking affection for showbiz survivors at the tail-end of fame.

Like the has-been it celebrates, however, this gentle comedy wears out its welcome by embracing mediocrity.

Written and directed by Sean McGinly, the movie benefits from having Tom Hanks as co-producer, appearing in a small, well-played role and attracting the above-average casting that his clout can command.

In the title role as a fading, Kreskin-like entertainer who reminds everyone he appeared on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" 61 times, John Malkovich capably walks a fine line between dwindling diva and still-got-it performer desperate for a final burst of popularity.

There's a great character here, and Malkovich does his best to run with it. Unfortunately, he can only hint at Buck's complexity while McGinly focuses his familiar coming-of-age story on Troy (played by Hanks' son, Colin), a clean-cut law-school dropout and aspiring writer who seeks life experience as Buck's "road manager" on a modest tour that culminates in a final shot at Las Vegas glory.

Along the way, Troy hooks up with a straight-talking publicist (nicely played by Emily Blunt) for a fleeting romance that feels rote and uninspired.

Despite its predictable plotting, condescending riff on Midwestern rubes and comic bits (like a cameo by "Star Trek's" George Takei) that never take flight, the movie scores points for its sympathetic take on has-been careers and Tom Hanks' solid turn as Troy's disapproving father (an obvious casting ploy that works perfectly).

But try as he might, McGinly can't find the zesty pace and chemistry that blessed two similar and much-better films ("My Favorite Year" and Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do!") that "The Great Buck Howard" is clearly striving to emulate.

Jeff Shannon: j.sh@verizon.net