Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Opening Weekend Box Office: #3 with $10,177,257
Domestic Box Office Gross to-date: $11,815,724
Gross Revenue: $11,815,724
Production Budget: $30 million
Director: Don
Scardino
Though his glory days are long gone, between
classics like Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and The Mask, I will always be a fan of Jim
Carrey and his fearless physical humor; sadly, the talented actor hasn’t
headlined a successful blockbuster in years, as 2011’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins was considered by many to be significant
financial let-down. And even though he
may not have as impressive a filmography as his co-star, Steve Carell has been
a reliable source of laughs at the box office for years (despite crashing and
burning with Seeking a Friend for the End
of the World), so pairing these two comedic savants together again was an
absolute no-brainer for a film about feuding Las Vegas magicians. With a cast rounded out by the always-funny
Alan Arkin and the effortlessly-sexy Olivia Wilde, anticipation for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone was very
high, but despite a few small laughs, the trailer didn’t show anything too
groundbreaking. The decidedly lukewarm
early critical reviews may have praised Jim Carrey’s return to classic form,
but I was getting pretty sick of watching his character sleep on a bed of hot
coals within the promotions…there had to be a better hook for the first comedy
of the improving March movie season. The
offbeat premise was going to have some trouble trying to take down a juggernaut
like Oz the Great and Powerful, but
being a fan of a majority of the casts, I still had some pretty high hopes for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.
Set in the bizarre world of Las Vegas Entertainers, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone first
introduces audiences to partner magicians and childhood friends Burt
Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi), headline performers
at an elite Vegas resort owned by billionaire Doug Munny (James Gandolfini). Reveling in his popularity, Wonderstone has
transformed into an absolute egomaniac over the years, verbally abusing all
those who work for him, including Anton and the duo’s newest assistant,
aspiring-magician Jane (Olivia Wilde). All delusions of grandeur shatter when
Wonderstone is overshadowed by the dangerous new street magician, Steve Gray
(Jim Carrey); as a result, ticket sales plummet and Wonderstone is not only
abandoned by his partners, but also happens to lose his performance contract. Struggling to adapt to normal life outside
the Vegas Strip, Wonderstone catches wind of an upcoming showcase competition
where the winner will be awarded a lucrative contract at Doug Munny’s newest
hotel and casino, but the humbled performer realizes he will only be able to
win by returning to the basics of magic.
Happening across his childhood hero, legendary magician Rance Holloway
(Alan Arkin), Burt begins to train for the most important performance of his
career, along the way making peace with both Anton and Jane, as he will not be
able to defeat the unconventional Steve Gray alone.
Like I mentioned in the “Short and Sweet” review,
the first half of The Incredible Burt
Wonderstone is shamefully weak, but luckily, things take a significant
upturn in the latter part of the narrative, thanks in large part to Jim Carrey
and Alan Arkin. Reawakening echoes from
the prime of his career, Carrey is absolutely hysterical with his physical
gags, and when you stop to think about it, no one else in Hollywood could have successfully
tackled a character parody of David Blaine and Criss Angel; the two magicians
are already walking parodies, and once you realize that, the character of Steve
Gray becomes all the more brilliant. And
then there is Alan Arkin…as the aged and embittered mentor to the headline
character, Arkin is hysterical, easily delivering the best lines while
preventing the narrative from taking itself too seriously; his reactions to “street
magic” and his unconventional hospital visit are both priceless. In all fairness to the man with the top
billing, Steve Carell becomes much more entertaining once he calms down a bit,
so you have to respect his ability to turn the audience’s opinion of his
character; by the time the uproarious final illusion is executed, you genuinely
want to see Wonderstone succeed. Yet, in
spite of all the laughs that I ended up enjoying, I cannot overlook the bigger
shortcomings of this film, which squandered the potential of a large portion of
its cast while relying far too heavily on the forgiving nature of fans.
If I was not already such a big fan of Steve Carrel,
I would have likely written-off The Incredible
Burt Wonderstone within its first hour, because between the protagonist’s
vile and thoroughly unlikable personality and some truly questionable
supporting cast decisions, there weren’t many laughs present. Transforming an arrogant buffoon into a hero
that has learned a lesson is nothing new in a character-driven comedy, but
pre-epiphany, there has always been some level of charm to the jerk who is the
focus of the narrative; the same cannot be said of Wonderstone, and because of
that, only true fans of Carell will find humor in the early banter and slapstick. My lack of expectations related to James
Gandolfini makes his questionable performance a little bit more forgivable, but
I have never seen momentum outright stall like it did when Jay Mohr appeared; I
used to enjoy the comedian’s work, but his part in this film simply mirrored
his recent stand-up…stupid, weird, and devoid of laughs. And for the love of god, Olivia Wilde has
proven talent beyond her looks, so I cannot understand why this script didn’t
give her more to do…watching her perform sleight of hand was genuinely
entertaining, but beyond a few small scenes, she acts as eye-candy who inexplicably
falls for our “hero.” In the end, the
biggest disappointment with The
Incredible Burt Wonderstone lays in the glimpses of brilliance that hinted
at this film’s true potential; a potential that was largely ignored in favor of
spitting-out a clichéd and sub-par comedy.
No one expected The
Incredible Burt Wonderstone to overshadow Oz the Great and Powerful, but in its opening weekend, it was
disappointing to see this high-profile comedy lose rank to Halle Berry’s
suspense thriller, The Call. A Carell and Carrey helmed comedy shouldn’t
have broken a sweat over recovering a modest $30 million production budget, but
a third place, $10.2 million opening represents one of the worst box office
performances ever for the A-listers. If
anything, one of the bigger marketing mistakes lies in the fact that promotions
didn’t do enough to highlight the feud between Carell and Carrey, instead
choosing to focus on physical gags that got old very quickly…in light of all
the new releases coming down the pipe, refocused trailers have to be released
ASAP. Critical reaction certainly isn’t
going to help fill theaters, so hopefully word of mouth can help Warner Bros.’
newest film gain a better reputation and end up with a more balanced return
than Jack the Giant Slayer. So, even though it may not be the strongest
comedy in recent memory, fans of the names associated with The Incredible Burt Wonderstone might still find some laughs, even
if they decide to forego the theater and wait for the home media release.
Overall
Recommendation: Medium
