THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE

Cole's Rating: ½

Thatcher's Rating: ½

Year: 2013

Cast: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde

Genre: Comedy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

        It’s too bad that Steve Carell quit The Office. That’s where he truly excelled; his movie career isn’t working out entirely as he planned when he left the show, with the exception of films such as Get Smart, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Crazy, Stupid Love, and a few others. And don’t get me wrong, he is a great actor, but performances like this are starting to get sad. We got Seeking A Friend For the End of the World, Dinner For Schmucks, and now this. Ouch! If the film business were like baseball, it would be three strikes and he’s out! And as for the film, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone didn’t know itself any better than I know it after viewing it once. The result of the film is an equivalent of horrid character motivation, a bad sense of dry humor, some sparks of weak romance, and wasted talent. With a cast like Jim Carrey, Steve Buscemi, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, and Olivia Wilde, great things are expected. But actually, I was impressed at how bad the film was. Sure, I had a few laughs. Sure, it was slightly entertaining. But I can assure you that next year when I compile the worst films of 2013, this will be on it.

        Let’s begin with the characters. Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi star as two best friends for life who discover magic in their youth and explore that for their career in the future; but when their success rate drops, and they split up, they must figure out how to cope with an ordinary (not really) life. Now, this plot is not impeccable, but it’s promising; unfortunately it was tarnished with the extreme character motivation problems involving Olivia Wilde’s character. I wonder how may sexually offensive comments she can receive and still tolerate (more than tolerate) Carell’s character, because based on what I saw, I’m assuming as many as he wants. The transition between scenes was rough because previously, she had hated him... Then she loved him... Then she hated him. I couldn’t follow the motivation not because it was complex and required thinking, but because it was poorly acted and poorly scripted.

        Is anybody else sick of the lame dry humor used in so many movies these days? Because I know I am. Here are the guidelines for using it: 1. Cast a iconically humorous star role expecting little effort. 2. Hastily script poor, simplistic dialogue once again depending on the sole presence of the actor. 3. Don’t forget the ridiculously unappealing plot and poorly developed characters. If you follow those step by step, you’ll have your average modern comedy in no time. 

        Let me advise all that this is NOT a PG-13 flick, no matter what the MPAA says. Several cases of bad language were used, but that wasn’t the problem; most PG-13 movies have their occasional profanity. And some also have brief, non-graphic sex scenes that are mostly insinuated. This film decided to take the next step in the poorly developed, question-arising relationship by displaying condoms prior to an implied sex scene. But it doesn’t stop there, as it simulates drug effects towards the end of the film, as the main characters get high off of a rare leaf from a foreign country; what I’m saying is the appropriate rating for this film is R.

        The saddest thing in life, as Robert De Niro stated in A Bronx Tale, is wasted talent. I concur with him entirely, especially in the movie business. It’s rare that several great actors/actresses unite to make a terrible film; but that’s exactly what happened here. Jim Carrey, who is one of the best comedic actors of all time, performed like his usual self, good, however his character ended up to be not much of a antagonist. Audacious as ever, Steve Carell trudged through his role as an alcoholic (maybe, was briefly displayed), hopeless romantic (not understandable), depressed (who knows?) magician trying to get back on his feet. He tried to pull a ‘Will Ferrel’; I don’t think it worked but you tell me. I did, however, enjoy Alan Arkin in the film as he made room for several glances of humor. It’s too bad his screen time was limited, otherwise the film may have been better. I cannot express my disappointment with Wilde’s character, as she could’ve taken her performance much higher than she did, like what she did in In Time. But I’m sure it’s not her fault, as it was mainly the scripted actions of her character. Steve Buscemi was Steve Buscemi, but not at his best. The entire cast (with the exception of Arkin) could’ve done better, and should’ve. 

        Like I said before, this film had no idea what it was or where it was going, and frankly, it seemed like it was out of its own reach, and I don’t mean that in a good way. It started out as a full blown spoof, then turned into a drama, then a light hearted romance, back to a spoof, and ended a comedy. It definitely needed to pick one. I shall write The Incredible Burt Wonderstone up as a movie that I don’t recommend, and one that wasn’t incredible.


Written by Cole Pollyea