THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE from Warner Brothers opens Fri., March 15, 2013. Stars: Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, Steve Buscemi, Alan Arkin, Olivia Wilde, James Gandolfini plus a cameo by David Copperfield. Directed by Don Scardino (30 Rock, Law and Order, Hope and Faith, Cosby).
After breaking up with his long-time stage partner, a famous but jaded Las Vegas magician named Burt Wonderstone (Carell) fights for relevance when a new hip street magician (Carrey) appears on the scene.
The harshest reviews of this film come from critics who clearly do not like or understand magic and illusion. Ignore them and take it from Mike Evans of Hollywood who does an insider report every morning on KQRS Morning Show (locally) around 6:30 a.m. Mike gave it 3 of 4 stars saying that the entire cast gelled nicely, Scardino (mostly famous for directing television) directed a solid film and Jim Carrey is the best he's been in years.
That's no stretch for any of the 20-25 people who saw and hated "Mr. Popper's Penguins". Carrey has struggled to find the over-the-top comedic charm that made him a star in the first place. This time out, his portrayal of the street magician doesn't rely on him being over-the-top. It relies on his ability to sell his tricks and illusions and he's right on the money.
Carell and Buscemi work great together and there is some drama as Carell tries to convince Buscemi to return to Las Vegas. What's nice about this is that none of it is over-played. That can be attributed to the guidance of David Copperfield, one of the better illusionists working. He spent a lot of time teaching the illusions but it is still the natural talent of the actors that sells it.
Again, there must be an appreciation of magic and illusion but this is a fun film. The only real problem is that Olivia Wilde isn't in the film long enough. (Heavy breathing). Perhaps the DVD will have an exended version that features more of her.
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