Movie Day: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

If you like to laugh or if you, like me, like magic,  by all means see the movie, "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone."  In theaters today, this movie is a laugh a minute.  Starring Steve Carell as the character in the title, he plays a magician, who teams up with his best friend forever, Anton (played by Steve Buscemi) as a well-worn Las Vegas magic act.  Carell is perfect as Wonderstone, an egomaniacal diva, sort of a cross of Liberace, Wayne Newton and Siegfried (or is it Roy?) who suffers an ignominious decline overnight and loses his best friend and job.

Jim Carrey plays Steve Gray, a so-called "street magician", who basically tortures himself and presents it as magic. Think David Blaine. Much of the film is presented as a contrast between the two styles of magic, with Wonderstone representing the traditional (think David Copperfield, who makes a cameo appearance).

Alan Arkin plays the grumpy, elder statesman magician who brings a spark back to Wonderstone as only Arkin can.  Speaking of spark, the lovely actress, Olivia Wilde, plays Wonderstone's assistant, who also helps to bring him back from his downhill slide.

I give it three and a half stars.