CHUCK AND BUCK --------------
When Chuck (Chris Weitz) gets a note from Buck (Mike White) informing him that Buck's mother has died, Chuck and his fiance Carlyn (Beth Colt) fly out to the funeral. Chuck's in for a shock, however, because Buck, whom he hasn't seen since they were eleven years old, hasn't changed at all and wants to renew a particularly special best friendship in "Chuck and Buck."
LAURA:
The audience is immediately signalled that Chuck and Buck's reunion is going to be weird. When Chuck and Carlyn enter the church during the funeral service, Buck immediately spots them and grins widely, waving at an embarrassed Chuck from his coffin-side spot. Later, Buck makes an aggressive sexual move on Chuck who firmly turns him down, gets Carlyn and leaves. Chuck's troubles have only begun, however, as Buck packs up his childish belongings and moves to L.A., where he will stalk Chuck unrelentingly. When Buck begins to comprehend that Chuck is avoiding him, he writes a play, 'Hank and Frank,' and convinces the house manager of a childrens' theater (conveniently across the street from Chuck's office) to direct the one-night-only production.
"Chuck and Buck" is a true original in more ways than one. In addition to its most unusual and complex story, the three main characters are non-actors. Buck is played compellingly by the film's screenwriter Mike White, who's unafraid to portray himself as a needy geek. White and his screenplay make Buck initially creepy and gradually turn the tables until it's Chuck that one begins to question. Buck has the social nonawareness of a child. He's emotionally arrested in time, if not in intellectual development, sucking his always present (and Freudianly chosen) BlowPop. Chuck is played by "American Pie" producer Chris Weitz (his brother Paul, who co-produced "Pie," plays Sam, the man who subs for him in Buck's play). Chuck, who's now known as Charlie, is a successful music producer, handsome and well adjusted. He's compassionate (how many people would fly to a funeral for a friend they haven't seen in sixteen years), but increasingly uncomfortable with Buck's appearances in every aspect of his life. It's a reactive performance, but an effective one, first playing as the audience's creeped out point of view, then becoming the man we want to answer for Buck's obssessive condition. Carlyn is played by producer and talent manager Beth Colt in the tough 'girlfriend' role. She's initially kind to Buck much longer than Charlie has patience for (he has a guilty secret after all), but when she's had enough she's still strong and supportive of Buck, attempting to get him help rather than merely acting shrewish.
Support also has it's treasures, beginning with Lupe Ontiveros' ("Selena") Beverly, the director of Buck's play (which she declares 'a homoerotic, misogynistic love story'). She's initially cuttingly dry, but becomes a mother figure to Buck. Paul Weitz is the 'doth protest too much' homophobe who takes Chuck's place in Buck's strange play. He can't act and is hostile to woman, but accepts Buck as 'normal,' (he almost has to - he's as much of a social outcast) which redeems his character somewhat and Weitz is good in the role. Also a natural is Maya Rudolph (daughter of singer Minnie Ripperton and a former SNLer) as Jamila, Chuck's assistant, who faces her own problems shielding her boss from Buck. Like us, she's creeped out, then sympathetic.
The film is tightly directed by Miguel Arteta (who's first film, "Star Maps," was underwhelming - Arteta's reversed the 'sophomore jinx'). Director of photography Chuy Chavez shot on digital video, giving a jittery sense of being amidst the action. Production design by Renee Davenport conveys the less-than-stellar face of L.A. as well as one of the most psychological looks at an adult's bedroom since Norman Bates.
Mike White's screenplay delves into such issues as hiding the child within when facing the modern world, obsession and loneliness. "Chuck and Buck" is not afraid to cross boundaries not normally crossed and make its audience uncomfortable when it does so. The only faults I find in this thought-provoking film are that its antagnoists are not in balance - we always know Buck's thoughts, but not Chuck's (he doesn't ever really discuss Buck with Carlyn, except for an offscreen conversation which she mentions to Buck). The ending is also a little too clean. Still, "Chuck and Buck" is unlike any movie I've seen before.
B+
ROBIN:
As boys, Chuck (Chris Weitz) and Buck (Mike White) were inseparable special best friends. Their friendship was broken apart when Chuck and his family moved away when the boys were 11-years old. Now, 18 years later, Buck's mother has died and he invites his old friend back for the funeral. Chuck, now called Charlie, is a music producer and executive and is surprised, even shocked, to find that his boyhood friend has, quite literally, not grown up. Buck still plays with toys and sucks Blow Pops like a pacifier. An invite, by Charlie's fiance Carlyn (Beth Colt), to come visit them in LA ignites new hope that his best friend is back in the unusual, original, new film, "Chuck & Buck."
Some people are going to call "Chuck & Buck" a gay stalker film and dismiss it as such. They'll be making a big mistake, though, by doing so. This sophomore feature by helmer Miguel Arteta is much more than that glib description implies and reps an unusual, compelling work about two men who are rejoined after many years of separation.
Charlie is on a career fast track in the LA music scene. He has a high paying and exciting job, owns a fabulous home, and is about to marry his beautiful girlfriend Carlyn. Buck, on the other hand, has lived with his parents all his life, surrounds himself with all his boyhood toys, and hasn't matured much beyond the 11-year old that Charlie left behind so many years before. Charlie is surprised, even shocked, to see the arrested development of his friend. He is even more shocked when Buck tries to grope him after the funeral. After this incident, Charlie just wants out, but Carlyn's invitation still hangs in the air, like an omen of things to come.
Buck, unknown to Charlie, moves lock, stock and barrel to Los Angeles and begins to clandestinely follow his old friend. He waits, every day, outside Charlie's office building and makes repeated calls to his home at all hours, not saying anything when Carlyn answers the phone. Charlie is freaked by Buck's behavior and wants nothing to do with him, getting creeped out by the apparent stalking.
In the meantime, Buck wanders into the theater across the street from Charlie's workplace and becomes enthralled by the idea of writing a play. (His inspiration is a kid version of "The Wizard of Oz.") With the help of the theater's manager, Beverly (Lupe Ontiveros, "Serena"), he writes a play and agrees to pay her $25 an hour to help him stage it. He becomes obsessed with his idea, seeing the play as the catalyst needed to return his friend back to him. Unknown to Charlie, the play tells about the very "special" relationship that Chuck and Buck shared those many years before. The obvious homoerotic story stuns Charlie who vehemently denies any memory of any such events. Charlie doth protest too much and the film's last quarter resolves the difficult dilemma between the two friends.
The strong suits for "Chuck & Buck" are the terrific performance by Mike White, as Buck, and the edgy, interesting screenplay by White. Buck is a child in a man's body, which leads to some creepy impressions of the guy in the first half of the film. You don't know, at first, if Buck is a dangerous character or a naif. Is his creepiness an indication of an underlying violent streak, or is it only a part of a truly quirky personality spawned by his arrested emotional development? The answers come to the viewer as the film progresses. We learn that Buck is harmless and only wants to return to the time when he was happiest - when he was with his friend, Chuck. It's a striking performance by non-actor White that perfectly complements his screenplay.
Chris Weitz was one of the producers for last year's hit "American Pie" and is also a newcomer to the acting fold. His Chuck/Charlie is a very confused object of Buck's attention as he rejects his childhood buddy and denies that there was anything special in their boyhood relationship. Buck's appearance in LA, his "stalking" and his play all lead to Charlie's remembrance of that time when more than friendship existed between the boys. Charlie's is a role of vehement denial, at first, and then resigned acceptance of that part of his life he thought was buried. Weitz isn't the natural actor that White appears to be and his performance is more studied and less fluid than White's. He is the object of Buck's affection and, as such, has to cope with the symbolic nature of his role.
The tiny supporting cast help to bring life to the secondary characters. Lupe Ontiveros, as Beverly, provides some of the film's comic relief moments as she takes on the task of directing Buck's play (called "Hank and Frank") and becoming his friend. She recognizes Buck's childlike demeanor and is helpful, rather than condescending, to the simple man. Ontiveros gives a wry and endearing performance. Another surprise is Beth Colt's perf as Charlie's soon-to-be bride. Her Carlyn is truly three dimensional and sensitive to Buck's turmoil, even if it does cause Charlie great consternation. Carlyn is a good guy and the non-actress gives a pro perf. Also, Paul Weitz (Chris's brother) gets some decent laughs as the talentless actor who takes a role in "Frank and Hank" and, ultimately, befriends Buck.
Techs are a little uneven. The film was shot in digital and transferred to 35mm stock and has the look of video. The handheld camerawork by Chuy Chavez ("Star Maps") is sometimes annoying in its shakiness, especially in close-ups. Helmer Arteta makes a positive leap over his debut film ("Star Maps") and shows that he is learning his craft well.
The critics and the press will likely play up the homosexual angles for "Chuck & Buck," but that will sell the film short. It received raves at the last Sundance Film Festival and, for its scripter and lead actor, these are especially deserved. It's an unusual film and, once you get past the creepy factor early on, an intelligently satisfying one. It may be a little tough to find in the theaters, probably getting only art house treatment for its theatrical run, but is well worth the effort to find it.
I give "Chuck & Buck" a B+.
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