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This seemingly outlandish premise succeeds because the movie isn’t played as farce; in fact, aside from the robbery itself, it’s quite realistic, especially in its depiction of the old men’s dead-end existence. These characters don’t ask for pity, but the situation speaks for itself. Brest’s thoughtful screenplay is filled with nuance, and his staging pays great attention to detail.

But the icing on the cake is the performances of his stars: George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg. Burns earned an Oscar for his performance in the Neil Simon comedy The Sunshine Boys, and this film, made four years later, reaffirms what a skillful actor he was. (And why not? After all, he spent his entire life in show business.) His Joe is not cute or coy; he’s a pragmatist and the driving force behind the scheme that changes the three friends’ lives.

Art Carney also won an Oscar late in life, for his touching performance in Harry and Tonto in 1974. Although he was beloved for his work in comedy, creating the iconic role of Ed Norton opposite Jackie Gleason in The Honeymooners, he, too, was a fine actor who could find many colors in a well-written character.

Least known to the general public was Lee Strasberg, the legendary acting teacher and Actors Studio guru. He made a strong impression in a rare screen appearance as Hyman Roth in The Godfather, Part II and was persuaded to act again in a handful of projects in the late 1970s, including this one. His character is the most serious of the senior-citizen trio, which works to the movie’s benefit: we aren’t watching colorful old codgers, but three lonely men who find purpose in life in an unconventional way. The bank heist is just a springboard for a thoughtful story about old age.

43. THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD

(2009)

Directed by Sean McGinly

Screenplay by Sean McGinly

Actors:

JOHN MALKOVICH

COLIN HANKS

EMILY BLUNT

RICKY JAY

TOM HANKS

STEVE ZAHN

DEBRA MONK

GRIFFIN DUNNE

WALLACE LANGHAM

MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER

ADAM SCOTT

GEORGE TAKEI

I’m a sucker for show-business stories, especially when they originate somewhere off the beaten path. Writer-director Sean McGinly based The Great Buck Howard on his own experiences—and it shows. I don’t think anyone would set out to invent such a main character or story line. Some critics dismissed the film as “slight,” but I think it offers rich rewards, even on a small scale.

The title character is a mentalist, reminiscent of the Amazing Kreskin, an old-school performer whose heyday has come and gone; he still mourns the demise of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. John Malkovich wouldn’t have been the first name that popped into my head when casting this role, but he is both charming and convincing as a man who has deluded himself into believing that a major comeback is just around the corner.

Colin Hanks plays an aimless law school dropout who stumbles into the job of Malkovich’s assistant and roadie, a thankless task given his new boss’s mercurial nature and many eccentricities. (The actor’s real-life father, Tom, was one of the film’s producers, and appears briefly as the young man’s disapproving dad.)

The Great Buck Howard is essentially a character portrait, from the new roadie’s point of view as he travels the hinterlands with his demanding employer. Along the way he develops a grudging admiration for his employer’s work ethic, his showmanship, and the fact that even after all these years, he still draws an admiring audience.

Filmmaker McGinly, who inhabited this world, re-creates it with affection, bemusement, and care, offering plum supporting roles to such good actors as Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn, Debra Monk, Ricky Jay, and Griffin Dunne, who make the most of them. There are cameo appearances by a variety of television hosts, some old-time entertainers, and, in a curious plot twist, Star Trek’s George Takei. All of this is certain to amuse show-biz buffs and observers.

They do not constitute the great American moviegoing public, however, and The Great Buck Howard sat on