User reviews

We saw this movie because we heard great critic reviews. It certainly was interesting and different; enjoyable to my artistic senses. But funny? No! I don't know how they can call this a comedy. I call it a drama. If folks are laughing, they're laughing at mental and/or emotional illness in a somewhat realistic plot - what's funny about that?!

It's very difficult to classify a movie like "Chuck & Buck". It has elements of a comedy, but is not laugh-out-loud funny and is quite disturbing throughout. It could be a suspense thriller about a stalker, but the story takes on a different angle and shows just how pathetic the said stalker is. Overall, it's a genre-bending film that, while bizarre and creepy in its story and character development, keeps you watching because it's strangely intriguing. The only problem lies in the last 20 minutes, where the actions of the main characters simply don't make any sense.

Before the ending, however, you're introduced to Buck (Mike White), a 27-year-old who still lives with his mother. When his mother dies of lung cancer, Buck invites childhood friend Charlie Sitter (Chris Weitz), whom he knew as "Chuck", to the funeral. It is only through Buck's interactions with Charlie where we learn how much Buck really hasn't grown up. Whereas Charlie has moved on with his life as an up-and-coming record executive who is engaged to beautiful Carlyn (Beth Colt), Buck is clearly in a state of arrested development.

Mike White, who also wrote the screenplay, is heartbreakingly convincing as Buck, and was very brave in playing such a vulnerable role. While we never find out exactly why Buck is so nostalgic for his pre-adolescent years, White's giddiness in seeing his childhood friend speaks volumes. He is very clingy in every manner from the way he hugs Chuck to the way he sucks his Blow Pops, which he does throughout the movie.

The film gets decidedly darker when Buck moves out of his mother's house and to L.A., where Chuck now lives. It's when Buck stands outside Charlie's place of work where we really feel for Charlie, but Buck's unhealthy obsession with Charlie does not stop there.

There is one jaw-dropping thing Buck says when he visits Charlie and Carlyn at their home. I won't give away what he says, but it happens when Carlyn goes to bed, and it involves certain childhood experimentation that Charlie put behind him, but Buck clearly has not. Charlie's reaction to Buck's statement is very understated given the circumstances, but would have motivated this critic to issue a restraining order immediately.

Buck is by far the most pathetic cinematic stalker since Rupert Pupkin, Robert De Niro's character in "The King of Comedy" (1983). Both characters are equally motivated by their own delusion and their search for love in all the wrong places. However, Buck is a lot creepier than Rupert Pupkin is, and probably would benefit from intense psychiatric counseling.

It was interesting how Buck began being active in the local theater across the street from Charlie's office. He befriends Beverly (Lupe Ontiveros), who is unaware of the true autobiographical nature of Buck's play, "Hank & Frank". A subplot like this would have felt out of place in a "Cape Fear"-like psychological thriller, but feels strangely welcome in an indie film like this one. It still contributes to Buck's unsettling delusion.

It is the resolution of this story where the film loses its ground, and ends on a very questionable note. The way Charlie ultimately decides to deal with Buck is very much out of left field, and was not so much a cop out as much as unrealistic given the circumstances. The last scene also feels half baked and inconclusive. Maybe it is the audience's wish for an alternative fate for Buck which leads to this feeling. Up until that point, however, the story was very intriguing and the characters incredibly well-fleshed out. Mike White's writing has always been quirky and weird, but it is always original and full of characters you feel for even when you don't agree with them. It just would have been better if such characters reached a better conclusion.

I agree this movie had dark undertones. The look and feel was definitely low-budget but the story stood up well. It definitely made me feel uncomfortable at times---kinda like when you want to say to a character in film "No, PLEASE, just DON'T do that!" I felt so sorry for Buck, he did not mean to be the way the was...he just didn't know any other way. This definitely is not a light-hearted fun movie. It makes you think and feel a lot. A tiny bit too short, by today's standard's but it got the point across well.

Entertainment Weekly named this and Dancer in the Dark (still haven't seen it) the "Number 1 movies of 2000". The movie was somewhat fascinating, had a very real feel to it, and had a bit of grittiness to it, but I don't see what's so great. When a movie is filmed with a video camera, you'd think someone would concentrate more on cleaner looking shots & angles, but I wasn't too impressed with the look of the movie. I guess they wanted to concentrate more on characterization, which like I said, was pretty real. Mike White's delivery as Buck was great, and I did feel very sorry for him at certain points in the movie. Anyways, the movie seemed like it was hinting at some big secret between Chuck & Buck. Like it was something more than what you think. But there really wasn't anything else, and the movie just sort of ended. Not a bad movie, pretty watchable, but nothing too special.

I don't feel to rehash what has already been said. I enjoyed the movie because I was eager to see what happens next. However, I felt there were two fatal flaws. When Buck first called Chuck, he left a message on his answering machine, using an 805 area code. 805 is a Ventura County area code which is a 45 min drive to Los Angeles. The move depicted Bucks trip as long distance.

More importantly, when the real Buck began to surface, Chuck had no dialog with his wife about the strangeness. He let her discover Buck on her own, which is completely unrealistic. As a married man, I know I would have a lot of explaining to do.

I didn't care for the cinematography either. Many scenes were grainy and yellowish looking. Despite it all, I found the movie to be original and well conceived.

GOOD INTERESTING STORY THAT IS FUN AND PRETTY EASY TO FOLLOW = 1/2 Star

MEMORABLE DIALOGUE = 1/2 Star

FEEL A PULL TO WATCH IT AGAIN = 1 Star

MUSIC OR SCORE STANDS OUT = 1 Star

NO NOTICEABLE PLOT HOLES = 1/2 Star

STORY GETS RESOLVED OR FEELS COMPLETE IN SOME WAY = 1/2 Star

I PERSONALLY LIKE OR FEEL A CONNECTION TO THIS STORY = 1/2 Star

MEMORABLE OR LIKABLE CHARACTERS = 1 Star

MOST THINGS ABOUT THE STORY COULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN OR ARE BELIEVABLE = 1 Star

STORY ISN'T BORING OR REPETITIVE = 1/2 Star



I'm extremely aware that this film isn't for everybody. But for me it was a sad, lonely yet touching experience. It's heartbreaking to see Buck (Mike White) run away from grieving and replacing it with obsessing over an odd childhood experience. Mike White is a truly underrated, gifted writer! I find that the more I study his stories the more I see depth that doesn't show itself at first glance. As time goes on it's revealed that there was hidden depth all along that hasn't been revealed. Really good movie!

very awkward this movie was.it stirs up laughter that you feel guilty about seconds later.there are also several lines in this movie which qualify, in my humble opinion, for the most outrageous line in film history.you'll have to catch the movie to hear them though.go see it!

Chuck and Buck is the perfect argument for independent film. It deals with issues that major studios wouldn't touch, and it has that raw power about it that just amazes. The acting and direction is wonderful. Don't be set off on how the film looks. Just because they couldn't afford to get a 16mm camara doesn't mean that the film is bad. In fact, I think it helped set a feeling for the movie. Similar to using black and white.

This movie is amazing, and I highly recommend seeing it. I know I'll see it again.

Chuck and Buck is worth seeing. I was impressed by the duality of comedy and drama in this film. Intriguing characters and a carefully crafted sound track make "Chuck and Buck" a memorable film. It asks questions of the viewer yet provides enough character and plot to tell the story. Lupe Onteveros is wonderful as Beverly.

Like a lot of users, I wasn't too sure about this film at first. The film made me feel completely creeped out at first. It's focused completely on Buck, this seriously developmentally retarded individual that is living in his own world but somehow can seem a little menacing at the same time he is innocent.

If you give this movie a chance and try to see it as a story about two young men growing up and coming to terms with themselves, it's a good story. The actor who plays Buck is brilliantly dead on as a 10 year old caught in arrested development. The director of his play was also wonderful.

I had a hard time following how Chuck, as a supposed "normal" person, could end up giving into Buck but I guess that was the way the film makers were showing Chuck coming to terms with himself. I had a hard time buying into it though.

Not the best movie but an interesting quirky film that is worthwhile to see.

Chuck and Buck is a very interesting film. "Refreshing", might be the best word for it seeing how it attempts to address many of the issues with which the current Gen-X crowd may be facing. It deals with a character who has been emotionally stunted from a very early age and has to deal with his confusion over sexual identity. A smart, very well-made story it lends hope to the emerging digital film movement which must strive for quality and originality in storylines in order to compensate for the poor video quality (an attribute still faced by all digital productions).

Whether this film succeeds in moving Artisan Entertainment forward as a mini-major (after its enormous success with Blair Witch Project) is irrelevant. Chuck and Buck is a good film and will most probably endure in the years to come.

I was expecting a nice, innocent little indie movie about a depressed 27yr old that wants to make his life return to the only time in his life he's ever been happy. Well, the movie was that for the most part, but then came the "climax", that went too far!!! If they left that out, the movie would have been better. But overall, the movie was well written, and a good story, and the ending turned out well. I don't know why people are upset about a bad camera, I didn't pay attention, and why would you go to an indie movie if something like that bothers you?

With the video-to-film transfer setting a grabbed-from-the-shelf camcorder tone of CHUCK & BUCK - I might've gone further with Fisher-Price PixelVision, less with the Tootsie-Pop sucking set pieces - one feels immediate unease not just by the regressive vacuum sealed obsession Buck runs on, but the sissy-to-sissy empathy it yanks from our own pasts (and yes, the present). The lingering pangs needn't be spun as infantile emancipation as they are here. Someone could use a good spanking!

What an odd little film. Buck is pitiful, annoying, amusing and somewhat frightening all at the same time. I can't remember laughing and cringing so much in the same movie! I liked it. :)

Not for everyone! But highly entertaining. The progression of the characters is fantastic. Well written and thoughtfully presented. The subject matter may be hard for many to take or even understand. But the study of human emotions and interaction is masterfully handled. I give it 7.5/10!

Subtle humor, you've got to love it. I knew this movie would be atleast somewhat entertaining after the first scene. Buck is dressed in black and listening to the his mother's eulogy when his old friend chuck arrives. I still get laughs over the visual of goofy ol' Buck grinning psychotically because of his infatuation with Chuck. Besides that, Buck's entire attire, his constant lollypop sucking and that ridiculously upbeat childish song he repeatedly plays can't help but put a smile on your face.

There was also a more general plot centering around the main character's homosexual longings; so if you're a republican, I think you should still see this, but maybe leave ten minutes early...

Overall, it's a movie about growing up and promted a lot of memories for me. I reccommend it. 8 of 10