Plot: What’s it about?
There are some movies that I look forward to, others that I wonder what happened to and then others that somewhat surprise me. I’d seen some trailers for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and I’m a fan of Steve Carell in passing, though there are others out there that I find far more amusing. Certainly his work on TV’s The Office is worth note, though I think his best role (and one that he’ll reprise very soon) was as Brick in Anchorman. Let’s switch gears into the world of magic, shall we? Like everyone else I suppose I’m a bit enamored by some people’s ability of sleight of hand, but I’m a realist and know that for every trick out there, there’s also a logical explanation as to how it works. This is why I love Penn and Teller so much – they tell you how they did the trick. Marrying these two topics, we now find Steve Carell alongside Steve Buscemi and Jim Carrey (with Olivia Wilde thrown in for some eye candy) in the world of Las Vegas magicians. The elements are all there, but does is deliver?
Carell plays Burt Wonderstone (his stage name), a bullied child who grew into the world of magic and found his partner Anton (Steve Buscemi) and the two haven’t separated in thirty years. Wonderstone dazzles audiences at Bally’s night after night and lives the most lavish of lifestyles. However there’s a new guy in town by the name of Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), a “street” magician of sorts and he represents the new world of magic. He doesn’t do tricks the normal way, rather he holds his urine for 12 days or sleeps on a bed of hot coals. Wonderstone is let go from his job only to find himself broke and entertaining seniors at a retirement home. It’s then that he meets his mentor (Alan Arkin) and finds a new passion for his work. But is it too little too late?
There’s nothing terribly wrong with The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, in fact I rather enjoyed it. It’s nice to see Jim Carrey doing what he does best – comedy and it’s nice to see Steve Carell out of the office. I do feel that Carell is doing his best Will Ferrell impersonation in some scenes, but the two go hand in hand so I’ll let it go. This felt like a 90’s movie to me like Tommy Boy or something where you knew everything would go right and all would end well. In a sad note I really enjoyed James Gandolfini’s final performance as the hotel owner. Ironic for a man who went out making us laugh was best known for making us shudder. Nearly overlooked is the lovely Olivia Wilde who plays the part that most any Hollywood starlet could play. Every actor in this film has had better roles, but there were some truly funny laugh out loud moments – and I wasn’t expecting any.
Video: How does it look?
If there’s one thing that magicians rely on, its visuals and Warner’s 2.40:1 AVC HD image showcases some impressive ones to say the least. Granted this is a new to Blu-ray movie and anything less than perfection (or near perfection) isn’t really acceptable, but lives up to expectations. Colors are on the warm side, we see Carell’s bronze skin glisten in the Las Vegas sun, the wigs are nearly covered and we see the mane of Jim Carrey’s hair as he flips it to and fro for the majority of the movie. Detail is stunning and is on par with what we’d expect for a film like this. Contrast and black levels work well off one another as I saw no evidence of any shimmering or blocking. Simply put, this is a top-notch transfer.
Audio: How does it sound?
The DTS HD Master Audio mix is fairly robust and while it didn’t shake the room, I highly doubt it was supposed to. Vocals are crisp and clean, as I mentioned above Steve Carell seems to be doing his best Will Ferrell impression with is exaggerated pronunciations of some words like he’s performing Hamlet or something. The front stage shoulders the burden of the mix, though the surrounds do chime in for some unexpected depth. This is a typical, straight-forward mix you’d find in a comedy and it sounds nice indeed.
Supplements: What are the extras?
I’m sure that this film wasn’t the hit that Warner hoped it would be, but the Blu-ray release does come with an assortment of extras. First up we have “Steve Gray: Brain Rapist” which is an 8 minute segment with Carrey in character as Steve Grey. There’s another 8 minute segment with David Copperfield as he talks about magic, his cameo in the film and his role as an advisor. We’re treated to a gag reel as well as 25 minutes of deleted and extended scenes. There’s also a DVD of the film as well as an UltraViolet copy.
