Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going by Bianca Ryan

One trick, 20 gimmicks, 40 bucks, two hearts that beat as one. Is it worth it? Let's break it down and find out.

Effect

The effect is inspired (as Underhill states) by Doc Eason's Anniversary Waltz. The effect is different, but the affect is very similar. A Four of Hearts is "selected" and shown to the spectator. Front and back are signed. Then the magician visually slides one of the heart pips from one corner to another. The card can then be immediately handed out and kept by the spectator as a souvenir. Not too shabby as card effects go.

Method

Well . . . the method is good, but has a few issues but nothing insurmountable. Basically, you get a special playing card that allows you to do it. The cards don't have to be signed, but whether you sign them or not, the spectator will likely want to keep the card. So no matter which way you slice it, you're going to have to give the card away. Thus, for $40 you can only do this effect 20 times - a refill pack of 20 can be had for $20.

The gimmicked card must be held in that ever so awkward "here sign this card while I hold it because I need to hide something on the face of the card" position. Also, the way the performers held the card to display the face was a bit awkward. I think some better handling would be needed before I could perform it.

There are two bonus handling ideas; one of which allowed for a bit of a cleaner handling, but the effect suffers a little. There is also a bonus handling by Justin Miller, but the only way to get it is to go to the World Magic Shop site and get it. That's an adventure I'll explain in a moment.

Overall, the method is good and easy and doable. You'll have to either use the slightly awkward handling or come up with your own. If, however, the fact that you have to cover part of the card while they sign it is a problem, then I'd pass. Frankly, I'm surprised that this "cover part of the card business" is even on this product. It's a Wizard FX Production. Craig Petty is, as I understand it, a representative of Wizard FX Productions. Just yesterday in a video of Craig Petty's (Pentacle 2000), he very specifically pointed out that he hates it when magicians do this (cover part of the card while holding for a signature). He said it's obvious that the magician is hiding something, so I found it comical, to say the least, that this awkwardness was "allowed."

Ad Copy Integrity

The ad copy is accurate, but sneaky. It says that the spectator signs the front and back (true). Then it says that two hearts are initialed. While that's also true, it could certainly be inferred that the spectator signed the hearts. Nope. Those must be done by the magician. The video trailer does a pretty good job of conveying the effect without really exposing the method. Ad copy: honest.

Product Quality

As is common with Wizard FX, the lighting on the cards in the magician's hands is terrible. There's a huge glare on the cards, making it hard to see. There were actually a couple of times, specifically, where I could not tell what they were pointing to on the back of a particular card. The glare was so bad that it just looked like a red blur.

The gimmicks, however, are excellent. The rest of the DVD and menu, etc. were fine. The gimmicks are printed on Mandolin back Bicycles. However, Matthew Hill makes the outrageous claim that if you're using Rider back cards, don't worry because nobody will notice the difference. Um BEE ESS. They will definitely notice the difference.

And the worst offender of all . . . when watching the DVD via "Play All," first, it does not play all. It skips the trailer which is the only place you actually get to see a real performance. Secondly, when you get to the section labeled "Bonus Presentation," a message flashes on your screen that says "An additional bonus handling of One by Justin Miller is available as a FREE download at www.worldmagicshop.com. Be sure to get this exclusive presentation to add to your routines. Refer to the menu screen for further details."

That's an exact quote. I referred to the menu screen and all I found was this: "For bonus handlings from Justin Miller please visit www.worldmagicshop.com." That's the same information as the other screen, but only with less detail. So I went to the aforementioned web site, and saw nothing on the home page. I then decided to use the site's search engine and search for the word "one." It returned a few products, but not "One." Next, I searched for Matthew Underhill. That returned a result that showed the free download as a product.

That means that I had to create an account (full name, email, mailing address, phone number, user name and password, etc.). Then I was able to put the product into my shopping cart and go through the checkout process. I wasn't charged. However, when I go to download the product from my account, I get this message: "As soon as we process your payment, we will notify you via e-mail and you will be able to download your software. Thank you for your patience." I've checked my email. It's been over an hour . . . still nothing which is odd since there is no payment to process.

They should have just made a simple page that allows you to download it without having to go through all that crap. By the way, the only reason I went through the crap, was for you guys. I wanted to review Justin Miller's handling. I would never have done this if I wasn't reviewing the product. But since I don't have that Miller part, I can't review it.

Final Thoughts

The gimmick is well made. The DVD teaches the method very well. But there were many parts of the product that were annoying. I've already mentioned the major ones, so I won't dwell on them. I do think the price is maybe a little high, but with the gimmicks, maybe it's fair. But for that price, you'd think the packaging would be better. It was just a plastic flimsy case with the DVD in it and the gimmicks.

Because the product is doable and workable and the gimmicks are good, I can't totally destroy this product. But since part of the product required you to jump through annoying hoops, and because there is some awkwardness in the handling of the gimmick, I can't totally praise this product either. Thus . . .

Final Verdict:
3.5 Stars with a Stone Status of gem.