The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Starring: Steve Carrell, Jim Carrey, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, James Gandolfini, Alan Arkin, Jay Mohr
Directed by: Don Scardino
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two famous magicians (Steve Carrell, Steve Buscemi) have a falling out when a new rival (Jim Carrey) threatens their way of life.

Review:

Tim: I'm really not sure who thought this movie would be a good idea. It's a comedy about two magicians and set firmly in the world of magic. Outside of eleven year-old boys, who would want to spend an hour and a half in this world? The fear here was that this would be a weak, unfunny film. Unfortunately, that's exactly what it proves to be. The film features a paint-by-numbers story, complete with heartwarming character transformations and a way-too Hollywood, absurd conclusion. This is all around a pretty bad movie.

I can just picture some studio executive rubbing their hands together in glee at the thought of Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi wearing ridiculous sparkly magicians' costumes, complete with really bad hair. They were so sure that audiences would laugh, and laugh, and laugh. The problem is that no one older than nine would find this sight gag humorous for any length of time. The rest of the audience might chuckle for a minute, and then we're left with an hour and a half of substandard movie. That is most certainly not the recipe for success.

Now, there are some interesting elements to the plot, although the film botches those as well. The story is very much about the old way of doing magic, verses this new, edgy way of magic that younger magicians are embracing. The film pits the old verses the new. On one hand, this is a familiar formula, and there's something we can all relate to in this aspect. It's fun debating whether old is better, or new is better, and I connected with that aspect of the story. Unfortunately, the big problem is that this battle is trumped up far too much in the film. Isn't this great big world large enough for both kinds of magic? Why does it need to be one or the other? Can't fans of both types of magic coexist and go to the shows that most appeal to them? It's a question this movie never considers, and it makes the whole thing seem phony.

The cast is good, but they are given some awful characters to work with. Carell is the titular Burt Wonderstone, and he's an arrogant, self-centered, moronic buffoon. And yet, we're supposed to care about him. Why is that again? Sometimes I think writers believe that if the character's name is in the title, that automatically means we will root for them. Not true. Burt Wonderstone's story is one of redemption, but I never cared about this dolt, and therefore, nothing that happened in this movie mattered to me. The film doesn't give us a reason to care, which is one of the biggest weaknesses. Steve Buscemi is a super nice character, but he's also a wimp. I liked him more than Carell, but he's still not someone you feel connected with. Jim Carrey was really funny as the rival magician, but he was so over-the-top that I had a hard time believing anything he did. Olivia Wilde was so one-dimensional, a perfect cardboard cutout of what a real character should have been. Alan Arkin is always a brilliant addition to any cast, but I wish he had more to do. The cast is good on paper, but they were given absolutely nothing to work with.

I can't say much more than The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is just a massive waste of time. Like every comedy, there will be a few humorous moments here and there. However, that's not enough to consider a comedy good. We need characters we care about, we need something compelling to hold our attention. In today's world, our time and attention are so precious- we have thousands of options. Movies need to do a better job of entertaining us, and this one falls far short. I did not care for this movie, and I feel very worried that Carell's career will continue to embrace crappy movies like this. I don't want him to end up like Adam Sandler.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



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