The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Steve Carell is Burt Wonderstone, a David Copperfield-esque Vegas illusionist whose career and “magical friendship” with partner Anton (Steve Buschemi) is threatened by the arrival of a new street magician, played with sadistic glee by Jim Carrey. Directed by Emmy-winner Don Scardino (30 Rock), this is a pleasant, if nondescript movie that flits in tone between drama and comedy. Its focus, centred around Wonderstone explicitly, becomes uneven; initially about the rivalry between the magicians, it's also a buddy movie and a film about returning to redemption and self-discovery, all of which is pleasant but lacking anything original.

Carell is on fine form, although his performance – fake tan and diamanté notwithstanding – does little to expand his acting repertoire, while Buschemi is amiable but underused. Disappointingly, for a movie about magic and magicians, the tricks are routine and uninspiring, while their secrets are revealed too often. A film that raises a smile rather than belly laughs, perhaps The Okay Burt Wonderstone would be more accurate.