The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) Review

Well, at least it was a good idea. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone provides showmen a grandiose stage to display their showmanship, but as a comedy the film simply falls flat.  Built upon an actually promising premise, especially when played out by a group of terrific comedic actors, nothing very interesting, or necessarily funny, happens in the story.

Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton are childhood friends and the biggest magic act in Las Vegas. That is until David Blaine-esque street magician Steve Gray’s pain-inflicting style of “magic” overshadows Burt and Anton’s outdated act.    

The foremost issue of Burt Wonderstone is that nothing is all that funny, a deterrent to any film touting itself as a comedy and nothing else. The jokes lack bite and wit, and the ability to resonate in the audience beyond a mere chuckle. The script, penned by the team of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Horrible Bosses) relies on the sensationalism of Steve Gray’s (Jim Carrey) stunts to draw the most laughs. A particularly memorable scene in which Gray cuts open a swelling wound on his face and proceeds to aggressively dig a playing card from the resulting gaping hole preludes similar stunts that come off as weak attempts to recreate the shocking introduction of Carrey’s character.

Burt, who is an unbearable character (played by the usually likable Steve Carell), goes through the “finding himself” stage after he and Anton (Steve Buscemi) split following a disastrous stunt designed to imitate Gray’s brand of magic. Of course Burt finds himself and the uneventfulness that plagued the first half drags on to the very end. Though Burt is supposed to undergo this life-altering and story-changing transformation, his initial demeanor as a pompous and out-of-touch Las Vegas performer devalues any progress he makes in the transformative stages.

If Burt Wonderstone does anything noteworthy, it’s the attempt to traverse the world of magic in Las Vegas, the mecca venue for magicians to gain widespread fame. The writers and director Don Scardino (30 Rock) reveal the silliness surrounding the multi-million or billion dollar industry of Las Vegas entertainment. We see the classic successes fading out while clinging to their former glory, the hard luck vets playing the lobbies at 2 p.m., and the new-age renegade performer attempting extreme feats based on originality in order to supplant the staple performers.

This perspective one can appreciate as it delves into why the characters do what they do and are the way they are, but alone it cannot carry the film beyond its failures in comedic execution. If Burt Wonderstone tried to be something more than a comedy, and a mainstream one at that, then such perspective could go a long way in creating narrative depth. Unfortunately, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is simply another run-of-the-mill comedy, unable to separate itself from the pack. 

1.5/5