Magicians (2007)

Four Weddings and a Funeral. The Inbetweeners Movie. Notting Hill. Shaun of the Dead. All well-received British comedy films. Sadly, 'Magicians' will never really be mentioned alongside those greats. The short reason: it isn't as good, or as clever as any of them. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't have a certain kind of charm.

Yes, it's the 'Peep Show' film. Only it's not. It just has the two main stars from the (hilarious) cult TV show, David Mitchell and Robert Webb in the lead roles. And, not only content with starring the two Peep Show stalwarts, Magicians is also written by the team behind the TV show. Many may have thought, how could it fail? But it does. Just.

Despite Mitchell and Webb basically playing the same characters from Peep Show, but with different names, Magicians falls short on laugh out loud moments. And that might come as a surprise as it's a relatively short movie. You also get a lot of other well-known comedy faces all popping up along the way. Some are used to their potential, others don't come close.

I've seen a lot of hate online for this film and, although I can see where it comes from, I don't completely share their sentiment. It's not THAT bad. Yes, it doesn't come anywhere close to Peep Show and falls even further afield from what it could achieve, based on the talent linked with the film.

What you get is an adult comedy which has a few laughs along the way and is a bit predictable. If you've got nothing else to watch and this happens to be on the telly (and you're a fan of Mitchell and Webb) then give it a go. It's the sort of film you'll appreciate more if you haven't had to pay to watch it.

Keep your expectations low and you should get more out of it.

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Fmovies: I've seen lots of bad to so-so reviews for this one, but I gotta say, I keep going back to it because the funny bits really are funny. For me, Peter Capaldi absolutely steals every scene he's in; he can do more comedy with one facial expression than many comedians can pull off in an entire stand-up act, and he's perfect for the role of the bureaucratic petty tyrant in charge of the magic contest. Daren Boyd (my GOD does he look like a young John Cleese!) also steals his scenes, as does Alex McQueen as the stooge: amazing what really good comedic actors can do with even the smallest roles.

I've just got back from seeing Mithcell and Webb's new 'out of this world, hilarious' movie and I have to say I'm more than disappointed.

Firstly, the format is very tepid, with the old 'two mates fall out and then compete against each other before coming together to succeed in the end'...reminds me quite of a Will Ferrell film. Its predictable down to a tee and doesn't drawn you in at all.

Its fair to say there are no 'laff-out-loud' moments at all, with the biggest cheer (apart from the one in my head when the credits started) coming from the sight of a 'stooge' practising his fake laugh and trip. Sums it up really....

Sure, Mitchell and Webb work well together and give the film a little extra (god help us if they hadn't been in it) but overall, considering this was written by the same team as the great Peep Show, this is very poor with very little to shout about.....

Stick to telly guys!

Magicians fmovies. I'm not joking. This is not a throwaway 1 out of 10. It's midnight, I'm tired and want to sleep but I have to write this before I forget tonight's cinematic shocker. This is hands down the worst film I have ever seen, and I have seen The Avengers and Not Now Comrade, so that's really saying something. I had to leave this film half way through, such was its appalling suckiness, and come to think of it I managed to stay all the way through Ghost Rider so don't think I don't have willpower. This film just truly blew.

First of all, to the other reviewers who rated this god-awful tripe anything more than 1 out of 10 (apart from the 10/10 scorer who is obviously with the film's marketing team) - have you actually ever seen a funny film? Saying "suck my wand" on its own isn't good enough. Go and rent out This Is Spinal Tap, Ghostbusters or Planes, Trains and Automobiles - that, my friends, is how to make a funny film.

So what is wrong with it. First of all, why magicians? Everyone hates magicians. Magicians think they are smarter than you. Oh look, you fooled me with your MAGIC TRICK. Always remember that magicians are terribly lonely OCD cases who will obsessively learn how to flick a card up their sleeve for days at a time. They are worse than mime artists, at the bottom of the entertainment barrel. So why do I want to watch a film about them? Answer: I don't. Unless it's The Prestige. Shhh, move on...

Secondly, how did the writers (who have previously done such quality work as Peep Show, The Thick Of It and Smack The Pony) not notice that they had forgot to put any jokes in it? This "comedy" is resolutely chuckle-free until at least an hour in - when my girlfriend and I gave up and watched Spiderman 3 instead, which at least justified its ticket price with some impressive special effects. Which brings me to:

3. Mitchell and Webb. Apparently the only super power they have these days is the power to stomp all over their incredible comedic potential by doing every job they're offered. They're everybloodywhere! I used to listen to them on Radio 4 and they did some of the most genuinely hilarious sketches I have ever heard. But since they took the Apple shilling I just can't get away from them. They seem to have the whole voice-over industry to themselves now! Death from overexposure. But just putting them into something does not *magically* make it funny.

Finally, what really takes the biscuit is that this film was part financed by the National Lottery. Which means that some good cause somewhere has had to go without funding so that Mitchell and Webb can not be funny in this crappy film.

And that really sucks.

The Brits can deliver regarding comedy at the cinema, no, no, i don't mean "Carry On... ". But i mean films like "The Full Monty". "Magicians" deliver completely. Despite some rude and bad language, highly forgivable, the whole thing is charming, cute, without any pretension and funny. Typical from the brits regarding the subject. I enjoyed it completely, and recommend it. If you like " The Full Monty", you will like this one. The actors, quite unknowed, do their part well. And there is not "space", no moment of waiting. It just delivers from A to finish. You won't laugh every seconds, but the over whole of the movie is funny. While I have been very disappointed with brits-com like "Love actually", one of the worst movie i have even seen in my life, the little budget "Magicians" manages far better. A nice surprise, wonderful. Thank you !

Mitchell & Webb have done some very funny material in the past. This film is, at best, mildly amusing.

The premise is amusing, in a black comedy way.

The characters are amusing, occasionally.

The script is amusing, in places.

Individually all of the contributors are capable of so much more and it is disappointing to end up with a film that aspires to be funny but falls short in so many ways. It simply fails to sustain any interest. Much of the humour is hackneyed and its predictability takes away so much of the punch that you find yourself hunting for humour that ultimately is not there to find.

Overall the best I can bring myself to recommend is if this comes round on TV and you have little else to do on a rainy day give it a try.