The comedy “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” stars Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi as long-reigning headliners and one-time best friends Burt and Anton, and Olivia Wilde as their glamorous magic assistant, Jane.  Alan Arkin stars as old-school illusionist Rance Holloway, and James Gandolfini as wealthy casino owner Doug Munny.  Jim Carrey stars as Burt and Anton’s number one rival, Steve Gray.

This movie has multiple issues that should have been addressed.  First, it takes too long for the comedy to actually begin. Most of the funniest parts of the movie are actually in the second half of the movie after Arkin comes in.

Once the movie does finally begin there are multiple scenes throughout that just last too long. As a general rule, laughs should last longer than the scene does and there should never be enough time for laughs to stop and then finish watching the rest of joke complete itself.

The characters in this movie are actually somewhat interesting. Carrell and Buscemi as Burt and Anton look to have taken inspiration from Penn & Teller, and Carrey as Steve Gray was trying to go for a mix of David Blane or Criss Angel, in the street-performing magician genre.

I had high hopes for this film. While not being a total flop, this movie had the potential to be so much more. Carrell is such a funny man that I never thought that it would take him as long as it did to begin to carry a film.

Carrey is approaching a point in his career where he may need one more big hit to give his career the jump it’s needed since falling flat after “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Sadly, he doesn’t come through with it here.

“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” is a solid, but not amazing comedy. You will certainly get some laughs while watching it, but it’s by no means the best work of anyone associated with it.

C-

http://youtu.be/FeU1ILHi_Lo