BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I really wanted to see this movie. The poster and trailer made me assume that Steve Carell and Jim Carrey were costars and that the awesome Steve Buscemi would be there for support. The movie isn’t exactly like that. It centers around Carell and Buscemi, two long-time friends and Vegas magicians. Their act is getting old and they break up in the midst of trying to compete with the “flashy” magician on the scene that’s a parody of something between David Blaine and Cris Angel. This guy is played by Jim Carrey. I’ve always been a big fan of Jim Carrey. I like his old silly stuff, his drama work, and his general camera presence. He is probably the most underrated A-list actor out there. Of course that sounds like an oxymoron, but by that I mean he IS successful but I think his actual chops are slept on. It just felt like Jim Carrey and Steve Carell were in two separate movies. The tone of the movie was really odd. The general narrative wants the viewer to cheer on Carell, care about Buscemi, and dislike Jim Carrey. Instead I found myself being annoyed by Steve Carell, wondering when Steve Buscemi would get something cool to do, and enjoying Jim Carrey chew up scenery. Carrey’s side of the movie was almost like a dark comedy and then Carell’s side almost felt like a clean cut PG comedy. Then the tone of the movie overall was just a rollercoaster. By the middle of the movie I just stopped caring. You watch movies like this to distract you and to laugh. Sadly, I needed a distraction from the movie and didn’t laugh much at all. It was just a really awkward movie. I love the director, Don Scardino. I love the cast and the idea of mocking magicians is great. This movie just didn’t work. Maybe I’ll watch it again in the future and my opinion will change, but after a first impression I was left in a sleepy daze. Judge for yourself and tell me why I’m wrong. Like I said, I did want to like this. C
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