Done Did Reviews: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Did we believe in Magic? Or did we see straight through the trick..







To be perfectly fair, I had little to no hopes for this movie. Yes it has an amazing cast, yes it has an intriguing enough premise, yet as much as the gags in the trailers did crack me up, I was scared that they were the funniest bits and that the rest of the film wouldn't live up to the hype it's own trailer generated. It happens more often than you'd think, sometimes good trailers can make a bad film. But thankfully this is not the case with The Incredible Burt Wonderstone as it sits right at home between movies like Anchorman and Dodgeball.

It's the first feature film to be directed by renown TV director Don Scardino (30 Rock, Law & Order) and one of the many great screenplays by writing duo John Francis Daley and Johnathon Goldstein (Horrible Bosses, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2). The film takes place in Las Vegas and was shot in various familiar places from the town and the strip.

Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) and Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) have been best friends and performing partners since they met as children, both believing that becoming magicians would stave off the bullies and get people to love them for a change. Now two of the biggest stage magicians in Las Vegas, the glitz and glamour has corrupted them somewhat, and their show has grown stale. Up and coming street performer Steve Gray, or Brain Rapist (Jim Carey) is stepping up with his stunts and "new" magic. In a move of desperation, Marvelton and Wonderstone attempt to go bigger and better, but due to a lack of preparation (and Burt's enormous ego) the stunt goes badly and ends the duos friendship and partnership. Wonderstone must come to terms with his new "common" life, and with the help of his magicians assistant (Olivia Wilde) and his childhood idol (Alan Arkin), he must believe in the magic again, and save his friendship to save his act.

It's a pretty straight forward plot, with not many twists or surprises throughout, so as good as the story was, it didn't exactly keep you on the edge of your seat. But each character is brought to life excellently by the cast, Carell, Carey, and Buscemi all right at home with this style of comedy. Wonderstone himself is a pompous ass and Steve Carell played the role perfectly, and Jim Carey nailed the "Chris-Angel-Mindfreak" parody character, Steve Gray, it was made for him.

The camerawork and editing is excellent, to the point that some of the tricks and performances are truly breathtaking, even when you know its a scripted, acted scene in a movie. The illusions and effects are really stunning on the big screen, and thankfully they didn't squeeze a 3D version out of it (they could have, I would have hated it, but they could have). The movie squeezes in a few cameos of magicians, and shows a glimpse to the uglier side of stage magic. Besides all the sparkle and wonder there is a serious amount of work and effort put into it.

The Verdict

It's not a perfect movie, to some people it's probably not even an excellent one, but The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is an amusing, heartfelt comedy that deals with people losing sight of who they are, and it's something we can all relate to in one way or another. The critics are being too tough on this film, I'm not quite sure what it is exactly that they were expecting but personally, just as a viewer, it was even more than what I expected and it felt like the jokes would only get funnier the more times you watch through it. How many times have you said the words "I love lamp" or "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood" as you watch it happen? You know if you like this kind of movie or not, and if you do, this is pretty damn good. A movie for anyone who can ignore a few strings or visible trapdoors and just enjoy the magic.



Welsh Says: Really Really Really Good (3/5 Really's)