Steve Carell, magician of comedy. Sure, that makes sense. But, Steve Carell, magician of magic? Not so much. Alas, that’s the role for the funnyman in the new comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Carell plays a Las Vegas magician who, along with his sidekick (played by Steve Buscemi), find themselves outdated with sagging ticket sales after 10 years on the job. With a crazy new magician in town, the David Blaine mocking Steve Grey (Jim Carrey) they are forced to adapt or lose their jobs. Of course everything doesn’t go according to plan.
This film is the rare instance the audience gets to see Carell play anything other than a loveable loser. Well to be more accurate, the story shows what happens when a loveable loser becomes successful. For most of the film, Wonderstone is a spoiled womanizer complete with a spray tan and bleached hair. But even with the annoying character traits, the script does well to move along at a pace that doesn’t focus too much on getting the audience to hate the lead. In fact, some of the funniest moments come from the uncomfortable personalities of Carell and Carrey’s characters. In fact, the shock magician played by Carrey is the most interesting character throughout the film. Unfortunately, his screen time is limited to physical comedy and very little character development.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is not the best performance for any of the main actors. It’s likely not the funniest either. But it does have many laughs that come through a variety of comedic styles. Like Will Ferrell has done with Nascar drivers, anchormen, figure skaters etc., Wonderstone does with magicians. It brings to light the embarrassing aspects of the profession without actually insulting those who work in the field. No one’s writing home about Burt Wonderstone, except maybe for magicians. Especially magicians that like making fun of David Blaine.
Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.
No comments:
Post a Comment