REVIEW: The Forgettable Burt Wonderstone
Abracadabra!
“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” is an interesting albeit forgettable movie that spoofs other movies and stories about magicians.
The story is one of wonder and of the feelings one has to decide to become a magician and the path they take to get there.
Unfortunately, the racy portions of the film took away from the overall feeling of the movie. They felt out of place and disrupted the flow of the story.
The magic begins when a young Burt Wonderstone, not yet known by that name, bakes a birthday cake for himself and opens his present from his mother, a Rance Holloway magic set. Wonderstone watches the VHS tape intently, learning from the great Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin). He practices tricks everywhere he goes.
One day, as he performs a trick at school, another boy approaches Burt and tells him that’s the best thing he’s ever seen. The two become friends and begin planning new magic tricks.
Fast forward a few years and the Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton (Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi, respectively) are headliners in Las Vegas. They wow audiences and amaze people of all ages.
But ten years later, Burt is burned out. He goes through the motions both on and off the stage. He’s difficult for everyone to deal with. He even dismisses his female assistant on a whim between acts and replaces her with Jane (Olivia Wilde), one of the stagehands.
After a show, Burt and Anton are drawn to a crowd where a new magician, Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) is performing off-the-wall tricks no one has ever seen before. He’s got his own television show, “Brain Rapist,” but Burt is not impressed.
Gray and his insane stunts get a following that takes away from Burt and Anton. Burt and Anton’s boss Doug Munny (James Gandolfini) tells the duo they need to turn things around with fresh new tricks. Anton agrees and comes up with a new stunt, the hot box.
Once Burt and Anton enter the hot box, things start heating up inside the box and inside each other. What happens next is a secret only the movie can reveal.
“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” contained an interesting implicit commentary on the true meaning and purpose of magic as it showcased the talents of stage magicians and their contrast to stunt magicians like Criss Angel.
The movie included real stage magicians in different parts of the movie, which added realism and believability.
The music, composed by Lyle Workman, was decently done but it was far from the focus of the movie. Workman’s also written music for “Superbad,” “Get Him to the Greek” and the recent release “21 and Over.”
If there were a theme to the film, it would be “On Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons and not anything developed by Workman.
With the exception of two small films in the ’90s nobody’s heard of, this is director Don Scardino’s first silver screen production. He’s had years of experience directing television shows and movies, including “30 Rock,” “Law and Order” and “Cosby.” His past helped him tell a good story, but the movie could have been made for TV if it weren’t for the big name actors.
Scardino effectively took three has-beens, Steve Carell, Jim Carrey and Steve Buscemi and threw them into an entertaining movie without becoming too ridiculous and over-the-top.
Carell wasn’t trying to be overly silly, so his performance was suitable for the story. “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” fit his style perfectly. He’s known for his many comedic roles, including those in “The Office,” “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Despicable Me,” “Get Smart” and “Evan Almighty.”
Carrey has been out of the spotlight for a few years, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. His classic movies, “The Truman Show,” “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “Dumb and Dumber” will continue to speak for him, but he wasn’t himself in his latest venture. This will be another film Jim Carrey fans will not remember.
Buscemi wasn’t given the largest part in the movie, but he did well for what he was given. He’s starred in major productions, such as “Reservoir Dogs,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Fargo” and “Boardwalk Empire” and done very well, but this film did not live up to his potential.
Audiences everywhere should be excited for the next movie featuring Buscemi, “Monsters University,” which promises to be fun and hilarious.
Wilde is a highly talented actress with an impressive resume that includes “The Next Three Days,” “Tron: Legacy,” “In Time” and “The Words.” Her abilities had the ability to shine in “Burt Wonderstone” as a down-to-earth woman with the skills to do much more.
Not enough can be said of Arkin and his multifaceted cornucopia of movies. He’s been a dark villain in “Wait Until Dark,” a comedic boss in “Get Smart” and a tour guide in “The Muppets.” He was enjoyable as the amazing magician Rance Holloway in this film.
If you’re a big fan of Steve Carell or are big into comedy magic movies, you may want to rent this movie. It’s not worth the full ticket price.
– Spencer Palmer is a graduate student working toward an MBA with a r
ecent bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Email him at spencer.palmer@aggiemail.usu.edu or visit his website, themovieknight.wordpress.com.