If you want to sample purgatory, sit through “Deception”

Deception’s one achievement is that, by comparison, it makes the orthodontist and Realtor advertisements that precede it look very well produced.

     A high-flying rounder (Hugh Jackman) befriends a stereotypically meek accountant (Ewan McGregor, looking like a 30ish Tobey Maguire) and introduces him to the thrills his life is lacking.
     The fun is pretty tame until the two accidentally switch cell phones and McGregor finds himself an unwitting, but not unwilling, new member of an executive trysting club that Jackman has on speed dial.
     Unfortunately, the plot has all of the unpredictable twists and turns of a straight line: McGregor returns from the ice machine to his hotel room after one encounter, is knocked unconscious and when he wakes, finds that his favorite partner (Michelle Williams) has disappeared.
     From there, it’s just another of the “if you ever want to see her again...” variety and not unlike the much better executed Swordfish, in which, coincidentally, Jackman was on the other end of the proposition. This time, McGregor has to exploit his super system access in an upcoming audit to move some money into Jackman’s European account, or else.
     IBMers may appreciate the ThinkPad product placement, if nothing else. In fact, plan on there being nothing else.
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½ Honk
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, language, brief violence and some drug use..