MOVIE OF THE WEEK #1 (3/15/13): THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Jim Carrey, Olivia Wilde, James Gandolfini, Alan Arkin, Jay Mohr
WRITER(S): Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (screenplay); Chad Kultgen, Tyler Mitchell, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (story)
DIRECTOR: Don Scardino
WEB SITE: www.theincredibleburtwonderstone.com/
THE PLOT: Imagine being one of the top Vegas acts for a decade ... That's the life Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) has enjoyed with his best friend since childhood and fellow magician, Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi). Hand selected by Bally's general manager Doug Munny (James Gandolfini) to perform in a theater with their name on it, life is great for Burt and Anton ... Even if Burt's ego makes life hard on all his female assistants, especially Jane (Olivia Wilde). But after being inspired by his childhood idol Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin), Burt has never looked back ...
Unfortunately for the duo, there's a new street magician in town – Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) – and his new age "tricks" (which are really more feats testing the human body ... and the stomach's ability to watch them) is stealing the duo's thunder. And with Doug always looking for something new, Burt and Anton soon find themselves in danger of being replaced ...
Unless Burt has one good trick left up his sleeve, that is.
Unfortunately for the duo, there's a new street magician in town – Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) – and his new age "tricks" (which are really more feats testing the human body ... and the stomach's ability to watch them) is stealing the duo's thunder. And with Doug always looking for something new, Burt and Anton soon find themselves in danger of being replaced ...
Unless Burt has one good trick left up his sleeve, that is.
THE TAKE: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is one of those rare movies they don't make that often anymore: A funny – hilarious in small doses, actually – movie with a sense of heart that's great for a date, a lazy afternoon or just to help pass the time. While Carrey (who likely has made an enemy for life in the form of a "Mind Freak") and Arkin steal every scene they respectively are in, the overall cast works very well together as a whole to make the movie work. While there are parts of the film that could be stronger, the package as a whole is in a word ... Nice.
In turn, the film helps showcase the reason people enjoy magic and the power of wonderment: To take away one's sense of disillusionment with the real world and create a sense of belief in the seemingly impossible. Each of the magic scenes pay the artform a strong sense of respect as a legitimate craft that takes years to perfect, which in turn helps underscore the film with a sweet sensibility. Of course, that would not matter if the film failed to deliver as well as it does. To say much more than that would ruin the fun that awaits and as anyone who's seen a magician perform knows, the best part of the experience is not knowing what's going to happen next.
In turn, the film helps showcase the reason people enjoy magic and the power of wonderment: To take away one's sense of disillusionment with the real world and create a sense of belief in the seemingly impossible. Each of the magic scenes pay the artform a strong sense of respect as a legitimate craft that takes years to perfect, which in turn helps underscore the film with a sweet sensibility. Of course, that would not matter if the film failed to deliver as well as it does. To say much more than that would ruin the fun that awaits and as anyone who's seen a magician perform knows, the best part of the experience is not knowing what's going to happen next.
PARTING SHOT: A simple comedy that delivers light hearted laughs with simple execution of its jokes and strong performances by its cast, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone delivers a nice entertaining experience without relying any cheap tricks to do so.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
Comments
Post a Comment