Charlie rebuffs him, and returns to Los Angeles with Carlyn, but not before extending an obligatory invitation for Buck to visit him there.

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.

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.

Chuck & Buck, although marketed as a comedy, is more widely considered to be a darkly humorous psychological thriller or dramedy, 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.

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".

[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".