Rating of
2.5/4
Wonderstone has left me split
Looneymanthegreat - wrote on 04/21/13
I’m actually very split on this one. by that I mean when this movie gets something wrong, It’s really wrong, and when it gets things right it’s incredible. One part of me really liked it, and the other really hated it.
Comedy is a real issue here, Steve Carrel isn’t funny, the laughs are few and far between in this comedy, and that is mostly because Carrel just isn’t funny as a spoiled jerk. I always preferred carrel’s dramatic work more then his comedy, and when I do like his comedic roles they are much more restrained then this. He just can’t be likable or funny while also being funny so ends up being neither likable nor funny.
Now, when the movie is funny (and it rarely is,) it’s freaking hilarious. There’s a bit about bringing magic to starving children that had me gasping for breaths in-between giggles, and basically every scene Jim Carrey was in was funny.
The thing that really brings me into internal conflict is the movies message, and the real heart the movie has in conveying it. Once Carrels character completes his arc and stops becoming a jerk he actually becomes pretty likable, and all the stuff about trying to reconnect with something you used to love that has become stale over time is oddly thought provoking. On top of that was the contrast between Carrey’s manic suicidal magician and the other ones, it shows the difference between art that is only trying to shock and art that is trying to amaze, again another surprisingly thought provoking topic.
Unfortunately despite the aspects that I did like there just are not enough laughs in this one to warrant spending big money on this one. Check it out if you’re a fan of Carrey or Carrel, otherwise I’d pass.
