“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” is an occasionally funny, but frustratingly formulaic comedy about Las Vegas magician, Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell), who struggles to stay relevant in the Las Vegas magic scene. Burt has been headlining at the Aztec Casino with his childhood friend, Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) for the past ten years. But his act hasn’t changed at all, which is made abundantly clear by the Steve Miller song “Abracadabera” repetitively played before every one of their performances as an annoying motif for how stagnant their act has become.
James Gandolfini plays the stereotypical greedy owner of the Aztec, Doug Munny. Gandolfini is funny as an apathetic father despite his name being a little too obvious even for the ridiculous comedy that it is.
Up-and-coming street performer, Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), practices more of a shock and awe approach to his act, often inflicting bodily harm upon himself in order to perform his eccentric illusions. Gray’s hilariously painful antics include going a week without urinating, hammering a nail into a table with his head, and sleeping on a bed of hot coals overnight all recorded for his Criss Angel-like TV show, “Brain Rapist” which has attracted a large audience.
In a desperate attempt to appeal to Gray’s fanbase, Burt and Anton attempt an impossible feat which Burt does not adequately prepare for, leading to the only slightly amusing injury of Anton. Anton angrily quits but Wonderstone continues his two-man show as a solo act ending many tricks by accidentally injuring himself as a result.
In one of the funnier sequences of the movie, Anton is shown on TV in various impoverished countries. Surrounded by hungry children, Anton reveals he has given all the children magic kits in a misguided attempt to ease their suffering.
Meanwhile, Burt is fired from the Aztec and finds a job at an assisted living home for retired Las Vegas performers, housing Burt’s idol Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin). Rance is a retired magician whose magic kit Burt was given as a young child, sparking his lifelong love of magic. After Rance grumpily critiques Burt’s showmanship, the two quickly begin working on a revitalized act with the generation-bridging magic duo of Rance Holloway and Burt Wonderstone.
Arkin’s endearing cynicism made this sequence one of the best parts of the film, redeeming it, in part, for some of its more banal elements. No surprise, coming from an actor who played the hilarious, foul-mouthed grandfather in “Little Miss Sunshine” earning himself an Acadamy Award nomination for best supporting actor despite being alive on screen for less than 20 minutes.
“Wonderstone” is the classic “old vs. new” archetypal storyline in a comedy, and what generic comedy is complete without a beautiful love interest for the male main character. Olivia Wilde does a perfectly good job as the love interest, Jane, but as many comedies seem to have in common, the biggest instance of suspending disbelief is in the premise that she would be interested in the selfish and sexist protagonist.
It seems to happen more and more lately. A comedy is released that, as a fan of certain actors and filmmakers, I truly want to like, but ends up disappointing. This was the case with “Wonderstone.” Carell, Buscemi, Arkin, Carrey and Gandolfini all give funny performances, but the film just doesn’t quite satisfy. Because magicians are so easily and often made fun of, “Wonderstone” should have been a funnier film. I can enjoy the same old story arcs in comedies if the jokes are funny enough, but the “Wonderstone” script needed more laughs to be delivered effectively.
