Tom and Colin Hanks
In this fable, Colin Hanks drops out of law school and becomes the assistant to a has-been magician (John Malkovich), much to the dismay of his own father (Tom Hanks). Is this perhaps how Tom felt in real life when Colin decided to follow him into the often cruel and callous world of show business? (Indeed, the whole point of the movie is that Buck is happiest performing at community arts centers and miserable amid the glitz and forced charm of full-on Vegas-style showbiz fame.)
Actually, the elder Hanks is probably okay with his son’s career choice, given that Tom also served as producer on this project. Besides, the movie only played a handful of art-houses instead of enjoying a national release, so only a handful of local audiences saw it. In other words, it achieved a Buck Howard level of success. So everything turned out all right for the Hankses.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSFmRucmXaA]