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Chuck & Buck
review by Zach B.
Rated R
Studio: Artisan
Running Time: 95 minutes
Starring Mike White, Chris Weitz, Lupe Ontiveros, Beth
Colt, Paul Weitz
Written by Mike White
Directed by Miguel Arteta
Retail Price: $24.98
Features: Commentary with Miguel Arteta and Mike
White, Commentary with Ruben Fleischer andDoug Kieffer,
Deleted Scenes, Games We Used To Play, Theatrical Trailer,
Cast and Crew Bios
Specs: 1.77:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English 2.0 Dolby
Digital, Chapter Search
A hit at the Sundance film festival earlier last year,
Artisan Entertainment, perhaps best known for distributing
the indie hit "The Blair Witch Project" snapped up the
rights to release "Chuck and Buck", a strange and sick tale
of friendship. While Artisan was hoping for the next "Blair
Witch" with this movie (meaning a little low budget indie
that would have strong word of mouth and then become a huge
box office hit), it didn't exactly go that way. Artisan
didn't spread the movie for wide release and it played in a
few theaters during the summer of 2000. The film garnered
mixed reviews. Many reviewers bashed it to death while there
were many who loved it and praised it.
"Chuck and Buck" follows the story of two childhood
friends (obviously named Chuck and Buck). Buck's mom
recently died so he invites his old friend, Chuck, to the
funeral (who now goes by the name Charlie). Buck is
incredibly happy to see his old friend and still thinks
they're the best of pals, but Chuck just sees him as a
childhood aquaintance. While Buck is obsessing over Chuck,
Chuck has a whole life with a great job in the music
industry and a lovely fiancee who shows more respect to Buck
than Chuck does. Buck gets an invite to visit them in Los
Angeles (where Chuck and his fiancee live), so Buck's
fixation makes him go there and seek Chuck out. While Buck
is in his world of toys and candy, Chuck has a life of his
own and Buck seems to be getting in the way. Buck simply
doesn't fit in with Chuck's new lifestyle. While Buck is in
Los Angeles, he develops an interest in a local theater
where Buck decides to write a play after he learns the
theater can be rented. Buck's play is cleary based on him
and Chuck and the kindly theater manager helps him develop
the play. Buck's main intention is to have Chuck see the
play and hopefully have things go back the way they used to
be. Of course, most of Buck's attempts to woo his old friend
go awry and just keep getting crazier while having an impact
on all the characters (this is a nice twist). I won't give
away the ending or what exactly happens (every review I read
for this movie gave the whole thing away), but I'm sure the
ending will draw some criticism from people. I liked the
ending because it did reveal some things about the
characters. This film is a little twisted, but I really
enjoyed it and the themes it did convery.
An interesting thing to note that this movie was shot
entirley on digital video cameras. I will admit that when I
first saw footage of the movie I found it a little annoying,
but the more footage I saw I did get used to it. As director
Miguel Arteta ("Star Maps") puts it, "you are allowed into
the most intimate parts of a character's life." This is
quite true, but the problem is, this DVD is transfered
directly from a film print, so sadly you really don't get
the whole experience. The movie, for the most part, looked
like it was on film and not on digital video, thereby taking
away what made this movie special. Again, this is quite a
shame because it ruins how the film was originally
envisioned and supposed to be. It totally makes it a
different film and with this DVD transfer the purpose was
sort of defeated. When I saw the deleted scenes, the
trailler and clips from the film on TV and whatnot, it was
pure digital video. With the digital video atmosphere, I
felt there just a little more to the characters themselves
and their actions because it is sort of like watching it in
front of your eyes. It feels a bit more real. Watch during
the twelve minute point where Buck cleans his car at the gas
station. Then watch the trailer which shows the same scene.
You will definently notice a drastic difference. While I'm
not sure everyone is entirely going to get the use of
filming the movie in digital video (they may not even
realize it because of the transfer), there is no denying
that digital video is the next step in filmmaking.
Mike White (who you may be familiar with being a creative
force on the television series "Freaks and Geeks") wrote the
movie and stars in it. White is so perfect as the haunting,
lollipop-sucking Buck and pretty much steals the movie as a
man who refuses to growup and recapture his childhood by
stalking his old friend. White really knows the character he
has created and I couldn't imagine anyone else playing Buck.
The rest of the performances are also outstanding, with
Chris Weitz (co-writer of "Antz" and "Nutty Professor II")
as Chuck who is just trying to get his old friend from
messing up his life and having him stalk him. Chuck feels a
sense of pity but gradually becomes fed up as knows that
Buck must move on with his life and grow up. Lupe Ontiveros
as the theater lady who helps Buck with his play brings a
lot to the role as she is the only one who is really nice to
Buck and thinks he is a decent person. Beth Colt and Chris
Weitz's smaller performances are really nice too. The cast
is simply great and make the movie even more believable and
more fun to watch.
Mike White's script is well developed and well played
out, and he's not afraid to touch on subjects of
homosexuality and childhood curiosity. He creates characters
with such emotion as we really develop feelings for the
characters. While we may feel pity on lonely Buck who takes
every "bye" from Chuck so hard, we feel some pity on Chuck
who really wants to move on with his life and that there is
someone who he hasn't seen in many, many years who is out to
bother them. I found Miguel Arteta's direction to be really,
really good. His style of filming the film as well as the
shots he establish keep the movie at a very good and timely
pace. I didn't get bored or tired of Buck's antics, and I
always wanted to know what was going to happen next.
This movie has this whole creepy and child-like
atmosphere which really brings a lot to the film as a whole.
It is meant to be that way, but the way it is shot and the
way Buck is, it just all comes together nicely. This movie
is a bit strange and is definently not for all tastes, but
if you come in a little open minded, then "Chuck and Buck"
is definently a movie you should check out.
Being shot on digital video, "Chuck and Buck" is not
perfect, but this is a pretty good transfer. While I would
have used the original video for this transfer, this
transfer has been downcoverted from a print of the movie. As
I stated earlier, this pretty much ruins the movie as a
whole. But I dwelled on that enough, so I'll just get to the
transfer. A lot of the print varies. Some scenes can be
pretty fuzzy while other scenes are incredibly sharp. The
film is presented in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen and the
extra resolution does help. Some grain and dirt appears
throughout the film and there is some slight shimmer. There
is also some really, really slight artifacting now and then.
Also, some scenes contrast are way down while others are way
up. Still, this is a good, acceptable transfer.
A 2.0 Dolby Surround track is included, and that is what
the film only really needs. Dialogue is crisp and easy to
hear, but some it does sound kind of hollow, kind of like
hearing through a cylindar. The music sounds nice through
the two channels and crystal clear. There is some slight
hiss now and then, but it is for a short while and ever so
slight. A very nice track. I guess it could have been a
decent 5.1 mix, but this 2.0 Surround track does the job
nicely.
"Chuck and Buck" features a very nice array of special
features. First off, the film has Two Commentaries.
The first one is with Director Miguel Arteta and
Writer/Actor Mike White. This is a very entertaining
commentary and some of their comments are generally funny.
This does give some behind the scenes info, but it is more
of a commentary of two friends just remembering the making
of the movie with some interesting tidbits. There are also
some insightful comments here about characterization of the
film as well as some technical standpoints on the movie.
This is generally a good commentary track.
The other commentary gives more of an "insider's view" on
the making of the film. The track is with Arteta's
assitant, Ruben Fleischer and Key Grip Doug Kieffer.
This is a good track too, as they have a good pace and keep
screen specific. There were hardly any pauses, they just
kept blurting stuff out. This commentary points on some
benefits of digital video as well as some interesting trivia
(Did you know Miguel Arteta's lawyer is the woman who gives
Buck his money at the bank?). They are not afraid to
criticize the film either ("too much answering machine
action"). This is a very solid track, so definently give
this one a spin as well.
There are Six Deleted Scenes, with optional
commentary from Arteta and White. While their commentary is
a bit sparse, the reasoning for why they were cut is short
and sweet. Two of the scenes are extended (one is edited
differently and gives you much more of Buck's play) while
the other four are all new. What was cut however was an
interesting part about Chuck and Buck breaking off their
friendship in the past. These scenes total up to around
eight minutes and are in non-anamorphic widescreen. Now
this, these scenes, give you a look at how the film was
originally presented on the screen and give you the best
idea on how the movie was meant to be seen. These are
transfered from the original digitial video, so it looks
sharper than the actual film and shows you what Arteta was
going for. I wish the film would have been transferred like
that, because it really gives you the whole digital
experience. Oh well.
An interesting feature is The Games We Used To
Play. Here, you can view detailed instructions on how to
play children games. So if you forgot how to play "Dodge
Ball" or need a little background on "Jacks", be sure to
check out this section. The instructions are also pretty
funny. This is a very nice touch considering the movie has
themes of childhood.
The Theatrical Trailer in non-anamorphic
widescreen. The trailer seems to be presented in 2.35:1,
where the film itself is in 1.77:1. I found that a bit odd,
so probably the trailer chopped the movie further. Watch the
trailer and like the deleted scenes, you'll see how the
movie was really supposed to be with the whole digital
filming.
Finally, there are some Cast and Crew Bios and
Filmographies (lots of cast and crew members to learn
about here) and some very interesting and detailed
production notes which I highly reccomend you read. The
menus are like Buck's posters throughout the film, and they
have a lot of flair and pizzaz to them.
This DVD does not preserve how this film was meant to be
seen, and this really annoys the hell out me (I guess if you
rent this on VHS and never heard of the film, you'd never
know it was done on digital video). This is a great movie
and to see it like it look like a regular film is incredibly
bothersome. Still, the actual transfer is decent and the
sound is fine too, and there are some very nice features.
I'm sure some of you die hard film buffs will also feel the
same way I do, so if for some reason you can catch the movie
at a theater ever, be sure you do to get the experience.
Artisan, if you're reading this, definently consider a
re-release of this disc.
 (4.5/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (3.5/5)
(3.5/5)
 (3/5)
 (4/5,
NOT an average)
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