Chuck & Buck

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Chuck & Buck ★½ 2000 (R)

In the mood for a pseudocomedy about a stalking homosexual idiot manchild? Buck (White), the childhood friend from hell, attempts to latch back onto former pal Chuck (Chris Weitz) after a reunion at the funeral of Buck's mother. Apparently, Chuck and Buck shared a furtive moment of experimental sexuality as kids, and Buck never advanced emotionally beyond this point. So when Chuck (who, being an adult, prefers being called Charles) and his fiancee Carlyn (Colt) casually invite Buck to their home in L.A., he drops everything in order to rekindle his imagined affair with the poor guy. After Chuck tells him to stay away, Buck writes and produces an uncomfortably transparent play titled “Hank & Frank” about their relationship, hiring a Chuck lookalike (Paul Weitz, brother of the lead) as his love in terest. White manages to keep a sense of innocence in portraying Buck, but the overwhelming creepiness of the plot overrides any sense of subtlety in the performances. 99m/C VHS, DVD . Mike White, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Lupe Ontiveros, Paul Sand, Beth Colt, Maya Rudolph, Mary Wigmore, Gino Buccola; D: Miguel Arteta; W: Mike White; C: Chuy Chavez; M: Joey Waronker. Natl. Bd. of Review '00: Support. Actress (Ontiveros).