RBR: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

As I've mentioned on here before, I'm a sucker when it comes to movies about magic. When you couple that subject matter with a talented cast that features the likes of Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Alan Arkin, and Jim Carrey, it should equal great success. It's too bad that the people behind The Incredible Burt Wonderstone seem to have no clue what to do with the interesting subject matter or its great actors. This comedy attempts to tell a story about a modern day magician. There are several ways you could take the story - you could do a riff on Sigfried and Roy and the odd nature of their working relationship, you could address how those "Magicians' Secrets Revealed" show have spoiled the fun of magic for a lot of people, you could deal with the rivalry between renegade street magic and more traditional magic. This film touches upon each of those storylines but never delves into any of them deeply enough or in any compelling fashion. Storyline issues aside, the root of the film's problem is their decision to make Carell's character such an insufferable boor. As Wonderstone he's initially portrayed in flashbacks as a sympathetic nerd who uses magic to escape the pains in his life. Once the film moves into present day, we're given no indication as to why he's become so obnoxious to everyone around him. This makes it difficult for us to have any interest in seeing him succeed when his career begins to suffer. The final blow comes during the film's final climatic scenes which reveal Wonderstone's grand illusion. It's not only disappointing to learn how the trick is done, its disturbing to see how unmagical it truly is. Frankly, the only magic trick I want to see now is for someone to make my memory of this movie disappear. Rating: **