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Saturday, March 16, 2013

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

I went to go see The Incredible Burt Wonderstone this past Thursday night. This is a silly comedy with Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. It is the story of Las Vegas magician Burt Wonderstone who has been headlining for the past 10 years. In that time he has lost his passion for magic. His friendship with his long time partner Anton Marvelton has become strained. He ends up losing everything, and has to look for what made him love magic to begin with.

I love Jim Carrey in silly movies.  He absolutely steals every scene he is in.  He plays a parody of street magicians like David Blaine and Criss Angel.  On the other hand Steve Carell is so stiff it is hard to see why they cast him in this role other than name recognition.  He is much better when he plays a socially awkward character that is uncomfortable in every situation.  This time he's playing a proven performer who takes advantage of his female fans.  Carell provides some good laughs in this movie, but there are just as many scenes that are too painful to watch.  The romance angle in the script feels forced, but it does give them an excuse to show Olivia Wilde.  Other than being some much appreciated eye candy, she doesn't add a lot to the film.  She still delivers a better performance than Carell even if the script only allows her to be moral support for the most part.

If you like silly movies about magic then this one is worth a watch.  It isn't anything special, but it does provide it's share of genuine laughs.  


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