''Chuck & Buck'' is a 2000 American

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Miguel Arteta. It was written by and starred Mike White in the leading role.

Plot

Buck O'Brien is a 27-year-old amateur playwright with the maturity level of an adolescent. When Buck's mother dies unexpectedly, he invites his close childhood friend Chuck to the funeral. Chuck (who is now calling himself "Charlie") is a successful music industry exec with a fiancée, Carlyn. He and Buck experimented sexually with each other when they were 11, but Charlie has repressed these memories and acts as if they had not occurred. Chuck had moved away while they were still children, and Buck has pined after him ever since. During their awkward reunion, Buck makes a sexual advance on Charlie in the bathroom. Charlie rebuffs him, and returns to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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 motel in

. He also begins scripting a play on a yellow legal pad: titled "Hank and Frank and the Witch", an obvious plea for Charlie's love. 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, the house manager. Buck hires Beverly to produce his play, and casts Sam, a talentless actor who bears a strong resemblance to Charlie, in the lead. 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 becomes increasingly erratic and obsessive. The end of the film deals with both Chuck and Buck confronting each other over their past. The two have sex, and Buck wants Charlie to stay afterward, but Charlie says they must part ways. Buck is distraught afterward, but eventually realizes he has found a new life at the playhouse. When discussing a play over dinner with Beverly, Buck notices Charlie has arrived with Carlyn. Charlie and Buck exchange glances across the room, but Buck ultimately disregards them and goes back to his conversation. Buck comes to the theater to find an invitation to the wedding. Buck arrives at the wedding party and offers the couple his blessing with his presence. Buck and Carlyn make peace as Buck effectively moves on from his obsession with Charlie and keeps their sexual encounter a secret from Carlyn.

Cast

* Mike White as Buck O'Brien *

Chris Weitz Christopher John Weitz (born November 30, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Paul on the comedy films '' American Pie'' and '' About a Boy''; the latter earned the Weit ...

as Charlie "Chuck" Sitter *

Lupe Ontiveros Guadalupe Ontiveros ( Moreno; September 17, 1942 – July 26, 2012) was an American actress best known for portraying Rosalita in ''The Goonies'', and Yolanda Saldívar in the film ''Selena''. She acted in numerous films and television shows, ...

as Beverly Franco * Paul Weitz as Sam * Maya Rudolph as Jamilla * Beth Colt as Carlyn * Mary Wigmore as Diane *

Paul Sand Paul Sand (born March 5, 1932) is an American actor and comedian. Background Sand was born Pablo Sanchez in Santa Monica, California, in 1932, the son of Ernest Rivera Sanchez, an aerospace tool designer, and Sonia Borodiansky (aka Sonia Stone) ...

as Barry * Pamela Gordon as Mrs. O'Brien *

Tony Maxwell Anthony D. Maxwell (born June 3, 1968) is an American musician. From 1991 to 1997, he was the drummer for the band That Dog, for which he also played for a 2019 reunion album, ''Old LP''. After the breakup of the band, he worked as composer on th ...

as Himself

Analysis

''Chuck & Buck'', although marketed as a

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

, is more widely considered to be a darkly humorous

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and c ...

, or

dramedy Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

as academic James R. Keller says the film explores "the hysterical fear of exposure some heterosexual males experience" when they have had sexual relations with another man.

Music

The film prominently features the songs: * Gwendolyn's "Freedom of the Heart" *

Petra Haden Petra Haden (born October 11, 1971) is an American musician and singer. She is the daughter of the jazz bassist Charlie Haden, and is the triplet sister of bassist Rachel Haden (her bandmate in That Dog) and cellist Tanya Haden (married to ...

's "Look Both Ways Before You Cross" *

Josh Mancell Josh Mancell (born November 13, 1969) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist who writes music for film, television, and video games. He is best known for his work on the ''Crash Bandicoot'' and ''Jak and Daxter'' series of video games. ...

's "Nwo Tew" *

Simon Jeffes Simon Harry Piers Jeffes (19 February 1949 – 11 December 1997) was an English classically trained guitarist, composer and arranger. He formed, and was the primary performer of, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He was the composer of the ballet ''Sti ...

' "Air a Danser" Additionally, Jeffes' "Paul's Dance", "Prelude and Yodel" and "Nothing Really Blue" (as performed by

Penguin Café Orchestra The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) were an avant-pop band led by English guitarist Simon Jeffes. Co-founded with cellist Helen Liebmann, it toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The band's sound is not easily categorized, having elemen ...

) are featured on the soundtrack. The video for "

Doctor Worm "Doctor Worm" is a song by They Might Be Giants. It first appeared on the primarily live album '' Severe Tire Damage'', being one of only three studio-recorded songs on the album. It was also released as a single and featured in a music video di ...

" by

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

is featured during a scene that takes place in Chuck/Charlie's office. Charlie claims to have signed the band to his label.

Reception and legacy

The film has received generally positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregate website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, it has an 84% approval rating based on 88 reviews, with an average rating of 7.06/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "As poignant as it is unsettling, ''Chuck & Buck'' uses the complex dynamic between two men as fuel for untangling a rich assortment of thought-provoking themes". On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In an interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 2010,

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning actor

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

named White's performance the Best of the Decade. Ontiveros was awarded the

National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress The National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress is one of the annual film awards given (since 1954) by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. Winners 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Mult ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chuck and Buck 2000s American films 2000 black comedy films 2000 comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films 2000 films 2000 independent films 2000 LGBT-related films American black comedy films American comedy-drama films American independent films American LGBT-related films Fictional LGBT couples Films about stalking Films directed by Miguel Arteta Films with screenplays by Mike White Gay-related films John Cassavetes Award winners Male bisexuality in film