The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, 2013.
Directed by Don Scardino
Starring Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini and Jim Carrey
SYNOPSIS:
Superstar magicians Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) have ruled the Las Vegas strip for years, raking in millions with illusions as big as Burt’s growing ego. But lately the duo’s greatest deception is their public friendship, while secretly they’ve grown to loathe each other. Facing cut-throat competition from guerilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), whose cult following surges with each outrageous stunt, even their show looks stale. But there’s still a chance Burt and Anton can save the act-both on stage and off – if Burt can get back in touch with what made him love magic in the first place.
You might think that a film based around Las Vegas magicians, inspired by famous acts such as Siegfried and Roy (with garish costumes and wigs included) would be a prime source for comedy. Somewhat infuriatingly, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone can’t seem to decide which sort of comedy it wants to be. At times it can be genuinely amusing, but the tone switches from a darker tone to farce and back again resulting in an imbalanced film that had the ingredients to do more.
The main issue with this film is that when you first see the advertisements and the talent involved, you get the impression that this will be quite a zany and audacious story. You quickly find out it won’t be however, and guesses made at the start are annoyingly spot on.
Carrell brings us what I can only describe as ‘Anchorman Lite’, with his character Burt displaying an array of obnoxious mannerisms that reminded me of Ron Burgundy. It is Burt that we are meant to be rooting for, as he changes from a pompous, outdated fool to a more mature person and performer, who has found his love for the profession again. However, the moments that you would think will be life changing are oddly underwhelming, leaving you wondering how he changed. It’s only later you look back and think ‘oh right that’s where he was affected’ that it all comes together. Though Carrell brings the right charm to the role, hi natural niceness means Burt Wonderstone generally comes off as more sad than a nasty person, so his eventual turnaround isn’t really that surprising.
Whilst Buscemi and Wilde do well with what they are given, it is Jim Carrey who almost steals the show. Returning to the sort of manic performance he was known for earlier in his career, Carrey’s Steve Gray parodies David Blaine and Cris Angel. His increasingly outrageous and dangerous stunts, plus his utter disregard for his own safety and fellow magicians, leads to him stealing most scenes he is in. It would be great to see more of this from Carrey, now that we know he can take on both crazy and more serious roles.
Though many will hold up Carrey as the star of the show, Alan Arkin shone as Rance Holloway, an ageing magician whose magic set originally who inspired Wonderstone at a young age. His grouchiness gives way to a sense of wonder, and it’s his actions and questions that really come to change to Burt.
Every main character has at least one laugh, but with the story coming across so flat, plus an extremely obvious ending, I’m left wondering what if? It’s a shame that a film with some great performances and a decent idea could end up leaving so little an impression. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone? Average is more like it I’m afraid.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★★ / Movie: ★ ★
Chris Cooper
Originally published July 29, 2013. Updated April 14, 2018.
