¨Prepare to
get your brain raped.¨
Director Don
Scardino got to work with Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, and Steve Buscemi in his
latest comedy. He also signed James Gandolfini and Alan Arkin for secondary
roles. It doesn’t get any better than that comedy wise, but somehow the film
failed to deliver big laughs and it settled for a formulaic genre instead. It
has to be more difficult to do a bad movie than a good one considering the
great cast Scardino had to work with, but the direction and the script failed
completely so the film managed to do the impossible: turn funny actors into
mediocre ones. This year has been pretty bad for comedies so far, and I had
expectations for this film but it completely derails from the very beginning
considering how unlikeable Steve Carell´s character is. This movie can be used
in film classes everywhere to show the students how they can make a bad film
with great actors. Jim Carrey is the only actor that really stands out in this
film and it made you wish the film centered on his character which was a clever
satiric portrayal of street magician Criss Angel. Other than that, the film lacks
laughs and heart, and by the time the credits begin to role you are happy it
got over with. The four writers involved in the screenplay couldn’t come up
with a decent story and the jokes fell flat. It is a shame, because they had a
stellar cast to work with and didn’t take advantage of them. Even the beautiful
Olivia Wilde was underused and her character had nothing to offer.
Burt
Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and his best friend, Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi)
have been doing magic tricks together since they were kids. A wealthy Las Vegas
Casino owner, Doug Munny (James Gandolfini), falls in love with their show and offers
them a huge contract to perform at his casino. As the years go by, Burt and
Anton become famous, but somehow fame and wealth have taken a toll on their
friendship. Burt doesn’t care anymore about magic, and all he seems to be
thinking of is getting the show over with and getting one of the girls from the
audience to his bed. The only thing that has grown over time has been his
personal ego. In the meantime, a street magician named Steve Gray (Jim Carrey)
has begun to take the world by storm with his dangerous and bloody tricks.
People have grown tired of Burt and Anton´s show which has remained the same
for years, and Doug decides to end their contract with him. Burt and Anton each
go their separate ways, and their fame soon fades away. Bankrupt, Burt decides
to live at a retirement home, where he meets former magician Rance Holloway
(Alan Arkin), who was his childhood idol. Rance reminds Burt about the joy of
being a magician and all of a sudden his life begins to turn around. With the
help of his former assistant, Jane (Olivia Wilde), Burt decides to try to
return to his former glory, but is it too late now that the world has its eyes
on Steve Gray?
I sort of
felt the same way about this film like the way Burt and Anton´s characters felt
about Steve Gray in that they said that what he was doing wasn’t really magic.
They were just some distasteful tricks he was pulling off. In the same way this
comedy can´t actually be called a film, it is just a bunch of distasteful and
unfunny scenes one after another. Carell´s character is so egocentric and
unlikeable that it doesn’t make much sense really why his assistant still stuck
around him. By the time he turns his life around it is just a little too late
for the audience to relate and like his character. I really didn’t care much
for what happened to him. The film could have focused more on Carrey´s
character who in my opinion does one of his funniest roles in a long time. The best
thing about this film is his character and the few scenes he is in. It wouldn’t
be a bad idea if the producers decide to make a spin off and make a film about
him, although this film did so badly at the box office that they probably won´t
want to take the risk. There is no magic whatsoever in this film, and I
recommend you stay away from it.
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