Case in point, was the final magic trick of the film, the "audience disappearing trick," which could have been debunked by any audience member wearing a watch. With today's special effects, you can make anything happen, but this film may have been much more magical had it given the proper respect for the art form in which it was tackling and shown "real" magic. What I also found odd, was that most of the "magic" in the film was not "actual" magic, but instead were camera tricks. How this went wrong is beyond me, but there is nothing more offensive than an unfunny comedy. They all had interesting characters but were given nothing to do. Clearly there was talent here, from Carrey and Carell, to Arkin, Buscemi, Wilde and even James Gandolfini as the money-hungry hotel mogul. ![]() What struck me as odd about this film was how likeable most of the characters were. There is always a female love interest in movies like this - in this case the mesmerizing Olivia Wilde - who falls for our protagonist even though there is no good reason to. When he finally shares a few scenes with Carell late in the film, he seems too tired or too restrained to offer us anything worthwhile.įollowing the conventions of the outdated, out-of-touch, fallen-from-grace hero storyline, Burt goes from riches to rags back to riches. His character is the film's most interesting, a modern magician who is more into self-mutilation and spirituality than pure "magic." Sadly, he is not in the film nearly as much as advertised. Jim Carrey is a very talented comedian who just so happens to have not been in a very funny movie in quite some time. The script also gives him little material to work with. Unlike Will Ferrell though, Carell is not effective at playing pompous. Instead, he is an arrogant, flamboyant elitist, a man who looks like Barry Manilow and acts like Anchorman's Ron Bergundy. In this kit, he sees a tape of the magician Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin) and he recruits his feminine loser pal Anton to be his assistant.īut when we catch up with Burt in current times, he doesn't seem to be the same person. We are given a back-story of how young Burt was bullied and ridiculed at school (with hints of bad parenting to boot) and how a child's magic kit inspired him on his eventual career path. ![]() ![]() Great comedies develop a rhythm of sorts and the first ten minutes or so of this film offered not one laugh, nor a peep from the audience I was with at the screening. Their act may have been based on this script: A tired, stilted framework that offers neither comedian room to be funny. Wonderstone's tired "Magical Friendship" act, alongside his childhood friend and partner, Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi), has grown stale and outdated and is in desperate need of some retooling. Carell plays the title role, a Vegas magician who is seeing his audience dissipate after a new magician (Jim Carrey) with a new brand of magic hits the town. Steve Carell and Jim Carrey are heavyweights and the premise of Burt Wonderstoneseems like one rich for comedy.
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