Amazon.co.uk Review
After taking a fairly decent run up in superb voyeur-friendly sitcom
Peep Show, David Mitchell and Robert Webb make the jump onto the big screen in
Magicians, a Brit-com with just enough tricks up its sleeve to carry it out of fandom and into the mainstream. That said, fans of Peep Show will be pleased to see the duo's familiar character traits (uptight nerd and faux-cool layabout) very much in evidence. The story sees the pair recast as fading magicians Harry and Karl (Mitchell and Webb respectively), whose successful double act is brought to a somewhat sticky end when Harry catches Karl cheating with his wife, before accidentally guillotining her in front of a packed audience.
The aftermath sees Harry reduced to performing tricks in supermarkets, while Karl has the more humiliating task of establishing himself as a Derren Brown-style performer. But the chance to reclaim former glory presents itself in the form of a magic contest and, aided by the lovably hapless assistant Linda (Jessica Hynes) and fruity TV agent Otto (Darren Boyd), Harry and Karl dust off the guillotine for a head to head battle. Despite its modest ambitions, Magicians maintains a respectable pace and gag rate throughout. A great supporting cast help raise the bar, but the film’s appeal is largely down to its two leads, whose isn’t-broke-won’t-fix-it route to comic acting is effective and well judged. Magicians might not pack the belly laughs of a Hot Fuzz, but you’re never too far away from a chuckle or two. --Luke Mawson
Synopsis
Magicians is the feature film debut of David Mitchell and Robert Webb, best known for their groundbreaking and hilarious television comedy
Peep Show.
Magicians also marks the film debut of
Peep Show's writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. Harry (Mitchell) and Karl (Webb) are magicians who have become one of the most successful acts in the business, with the help of Harry's wife as the duo's assistant. After discovering an affair between Karl and his wife, Harry accidentally causes a guillotine-related incident that has grave consequences for his wife. Several years later, a struggling Harry decides to enter a magic competition with a large cash prize. He recruits his enthusiastic if untalented friend Linda as an assistant (Jessica Hynes - nee Stevenson,
Spaced) and persuades Karl to join him in attempt to win the competition, forcing the pair to try to put aside their differences. In the wake of 2006's magic based dramas
The Prestige and
The Illusionist,
Magicians offers a welcomingly comic look at the world of illusionism. As the film features the stars and writers of
Peep Show, much of the humour is the same, although it doesn't allow the audience to hear the main characters inner monologue, as is the case in
Peep Show. There is much to appeal to both fans of
Peep Show and people who haven't watched a single episode in this entertaining British comedy.
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