| Chuck & Buck | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Miguel Arteta |
| Produced by | Jason Kliot Thomas Brown Michael Escott Charles J. Rusbasan Judith Zarin |
| Written by | Mike White |
| Starring | Mike White Chris Weitz Paul Weitz Lupe Ontiveros Maya Rudolph |
| Music by | Joey Waronker Tony Maxwell Gwendolyn Sanford Gregory Hormel |
| Cinematography | Chuy Chávez |
| Editing by | Jeff Betancourt |
| Distributed by | Artisan Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | January 21, 2000 (Sundance) July 14, 2000 |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $250,000 |
Chuck & Buck is a 2000 comedy thriller film written by and starring Mike White, and directed by Miguel Arteta.
Contents |
Buck O'Brien (Mike White), an emotionally arrested amateur playwright, still lives with his mother despite being twenty-seven years old. Buck's mother dies unexpectedly and he invites his close childhood friend Chuck (Chris Weitz) to the funeral. Chuck (who is now calling himself "Charlie") is a successful music industry exec with a fiancée named Carlyn (Beth Colt). Chuck and Buck had sexual relations together at the age of 11, but Chuck has repressed these memories and acts as if they had not occurred. Chuck had moved away while they were still children, and Buck appears to not have matured at all from that day Chuck left his life.
During their awkward reunion, Buck makes a sexual advance on Charlie in the bathroom. Charlie rebuffs him, and returns to Los Angeles with Carlyn, but not before extending an obligatory invitation for Buck to visit him there. Buck then withdraws $10,000 from his bank account, packs up his car, and takes up residence in a hotel in Los Angeles. He also begins scripting a play on a yellow legal pad.
Too shy to announce his presence right away, Buck starts trying to see Charlie at his office at Trimorph Entertainment. Buck also surreptitiously follows Charlie to find out where he lives.
While standing in front of the playhouse across the street from Charlie's job, he strikes up a conversation with Beverly (Lupe Ontiveros), the house manager. Buck hires Beverly to produce his play; Buck then works up the nerve to approach Charlie and his girlfriend.
After being invited to a party that Charlie and Carlyn host, Buck becomes aware of just how far apart he and Chuck have grown. He feels rejected by Charlie's new friends. He also becomes resentful of Carlyn, who he erroneously believes is interfering with their friendship. As a result of this mind-set, Buck's behavior takes on an increasingly dark edge.
The end of the movie deals with both Chuck and Buck confronting, understanding, and putting closure to their past relationship.
Chuck & Buck, although marketed as a comedy, is more widely considered to be a darkly humorous psychological thriller, or dramedy.[citation needed] James Keller says the film explores "the hysterical fear of exposure some heterosexual males experience" when they have had sexual relations with another man.[1]
The film prominently features two songs:
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