The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Sadly, there was little magical about this movie. The writers, producers and director seemed confused about the central theme and message of the movie. They didn't know if they were making a serious drama about the state of "magic" in our Las Vegas-centric world, or a comedic satire. The story, two young boys discover the world of magic, dream of becoming magicians, make it big in Las Vegas, become bored and cynical with their success, lose everything because of their uninspired performances and the success some upcoming "street magicians" who steal the younger audiences – was a great basis to start from. It could've easily made an excellent serious drama about magicians and the life they lead. The struggle between the traditional magicians/illusionist versus the new breed of shocking guerrilla street magicians has real potential and depth. Unfortunately, however, the movie relies too much on stupid jokes, silly off the mark satire, and shallow cliché. I think they mistakenly tried to make a comedy, but because of the serious undertones throughout the movie, they failed here as well. Steve Carrell does a decent job as Burt Wonderstone, but his character is so thoroughly unlikable that even when he loses everything and strives to make a comeback, I found myself not empathizing with him at all. Jim Carrey has a great part as the shocking, crazy, and unbelievable street magician – but again the character is shallow and the writers could have easily given him much better material to work with. He just came across as annoying. The movie is undeniably flat. Nevertheless, there were a couple of scenes that I did find enjoyable; the part where Burt met his original magical inspiration at a nursing home during the time he had lost everything and was struggling to find himself, was particularly enjoyable and somewhat heartwarming. Unfortunately, those scenes did not last very long, and soon we were brought back into the confusing world of NOT comedy – NOT drama. Don't bother with this one... Watch something else.