If you like Steve Carrell, you’ll probably like The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. This movie is funny and it is fun. TIBW has several hilarious sight gags to go with a good group of well-cast characters.
Carrell and fellow Steve, Buscemi, play childhood friends who parlay their love of magic into a long running gig together in Vegas as Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton. But the act gets stale, egos inflate and they get sick of each other. When audiences disappear, it’s not an illusion.
Meanwhile, a street magician, played brilliantly by Jim Carrey, is creating huge buzz with his over-the-top stunts. As his star rises, Burt and Anton’s is fading. A desperation stunt by Burt and Anton ends badly and their partnership goes “poof!”
Burt’s redemption comes with help from Alan Arkin, a man who adds a spark to any movie he’s in. Arkin is an aging magician who helps Burt regain a passion for magic. The beautiful Olivia Wilde adds more than just eye candy in her role as a magician’s assistant who helps Burt regain some humility.
James Gandolfini is the oily casino boss who hires and fires Burt and Anton, then gives them a big opportunity for a comeback. And the rarely seen but talented Jay Mohr plays a likeable small-time wannabe Vegas magician.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is not what you would call a “laugh riot.” As with Carrell’s performance on The Office, some of the laughs delivered here are chuckles, not guffaws. But there’s plenty of fun in TIBW. If you’re looking for a pleasant amusement, my magic words are “go see it.”