Penn & Teller Get Killed

Penn & Teller, the self-proclaimed bad boys of magic who have made a living out of "shocking" audiences on late night talk shows, strut their stuff for the motion picture trade in this exceedingly lame black comedy. Penn, a heavyset, bespectacled lunk who sports a ponytail and one red fingernail, is the master of ceremonies during the duo's magic shows; Teller is short, thin, and, for the purposes of the pair's comedy, mute. The plot is simple: when Penn announces to all and sundry on national TV that he wished someone were trying to kill him, his wish is fulfilled. The careful observer will note very quickly that the whole shebang is a ruse staged by Penn to hoodwink Teller. The problem is that the boys are strictly dependent on one note shocks: tricks. that go awry and result in Teller's apparent death on stage. Granted, there are a number of "cruel tricks" in the film; that still leaves a lot of room for dialog and character development. There's too much of the former (most of it tired) and not enough of the latter. I don't want to spoil the ending but the film closes with a peck of people committing suicide. This is supposed to be funny. Har har. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)