The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: It’s fun, but not magic

Probably better suited to movie-going families than adults expecting something along the lines of Steve Carell comedies such as The 40 Year Old Virgin or Dinner for Schmucks, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is both a loving tribute to magic and a send-up of all styles of entertainer now populating Vegas.

An awkward loner as a child, Burt discovers the power of magic when his absentee mother buys him a kit as a birthday gift. After watching a how-to video hosted by iconic old school magician Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin), the boy is hooked. Burt (Steve Carell) grows up to become a professional magician and signs a big contract at Bally’s, bringing his lifelong friend and partner Anton (Steve Buscemi) along with him. The two perform the same glitzy routine for years but eventually the crowds start to dwindle and Bally’s owner Doug (James Gandolfini) turns to edgy street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), a guy who does extreme things like serving as a human piñata and holding his urine for days, to take their place. The two briefly try to update their act, but eventually go their separate directions; their assistant Jane (Olivia Wilde) even signs on with Steve. Burt, however, rediscovers his love for magic when he meets childhood hero Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin) and they work to put together a new routine that will get Burt back on top.

Gray’s “mind rape” magic parodies something between “illusionist and endurance artist” David Blaine and Criss Angel, the Vegas magician whose performances are like rock concerts. Burt and Anton look like Siegfied & Roy aspiring to theatrical productions along the lines of, say, David Copperfield (who consulted on the film and even has a brief cameo). Carrey and Carell are perfect in their respective roles as Carrey really hams it up as the esoteric Steve Gray and Carell brings a gentler sort of comedy to the largely clueless Burt. Wilde does what she can with her somewhat character, but the secondary love story is largely unbelievable and unnecessary. Buscemi is the real marvel here. He goes back to his Cohen Brothers roots to portray Anton as a quirky but lovable guy who, while second banana, never drifts into the background.