Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: I Wanna Rock By Twisted Sister

For $35 you get everything you need to perform an extremely visual effect plus a DVD full of a few blunders and a ton of great ideas.

Blunders:

This one is inconsequential, but important for fans of my dear friend Boris Pocus. There was a moment in an effect where Justin Miller was saying that the trick was "Verry Sthrong, Verry Sthrong."

He then said "as Boris Wild would say." Dear Justin - It was Boris Pocus (my close friend) not Boris Wild who coined said Phrase. If you don't believe that Mr. Pocus and I are close friends, just read this: proof that I know Boris Pocus.

On to the real blunders. There are four, 2 major ones (the first two) and two minor ones (the last two):

First "Major" Blunder: The gimmick supplied with the DVD only works with certain type of wallets. He suggests where to get the stuff to make a gimmick for the other types of wallets, but doesn't explain what to do to make the gimmick. He just says to get a certain type of cloth at a fabric store, and that's it. The supplied gimmicks are not cloth. They are vinyl-like paper. I honestly don't see how to do this with the "cloth from a fabric store."

The good news, however is that you can buy the "right kind of wallet" at Walmart for like 8 bucks.

Second Major Blunder: For the handling called Disappearing Bills, he attempts to explain his presentation. Here it is below (I actually transcribed this word for word):

So this is a very interesting piece of strange um to do. And I like to bring the situation around like it has to do . . . have you ever seen um "Back To the Future?" and they'll go "Yeah. Absolutely." Well money's kinda like that you know . . . once you have it and then sometimes you have a trail behind of how much you had and all that good stuff.

He then goes into the handling of the trick. Um . . . Huh? Reread that "patter" and tell me what the heck he's talking about. If you're gonna teach a presentational angle, teach a presentational angle.

First "Minor" Blunder: On one of the effects, he constantly says that it's a great opener. Then at the end of the effect, he says he would "never start with this effect." So which is it? A good opener or one you never start with?

Second "Minor" Blunder: He constantly, as "misdirection," asks the question (to the audience), "Are you right handed or left handed?" He often quickly follows that with "it doesn't matter . . ." That is a good technique for misdirection if you actually acknowledge the spectator's response (rather than talk over them and not even pause a millisecond to get an answer). The way Justin is using it, he might as well just say, "Hey! Look over there!"

As you know, I don't let the performance or whether or not I like the effect affect the final score which is why I labeled this as a minor blunder - for the DVD and product quality it is irrelevant. However, if you perform it this way, you (like Justin) will be making a MAJOR performance blunder.

The Great News

Having said all that I did above, I still believe that this product is something you should invest in. Oh First Hand, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Thou art visual and powerful. Yet thine secret is one of simplicity and practicality.

I've already run out of flowery Shakespearean Text (if you can even call it that). Here's the deal in plain English:

This is probably the best bill change I've ever seen. While some of the versions on the DVD look just about exactly the same as all the other changes on the market, there is one major difference. There are no gimmicks in this version, and everything can be handed out in the end. You're totally clean. There are both gimmicked and none gimmicked versions. The gimmicked versions change when you tap them with your wallet. The non-gimmicked versions change when you riffle the bills (much like the majority of the other ones on the market).

My favorite part of this DVD is the fact that every version leaves you in a situation where you are totally clean and the bills can be completely examined (after the change). The other killer part of this is that the gimmick is one you won't spend. How many times have you made up a set of stack-of-bills change gimmicks where you have to sacrifice a $100 dollar bill? You don't lose the bill, but it's "stuck" to the gimmick. If you get in a jam and need the cash, you have to tear apart your gimmick and spend your hundred dollar bill.

With this version, the only thing gimmicked is a single one dollar bill. Hopefully you'll never be so broke that you have to tear apart your one dollar bill gimmick. And of course, don't forget that there are several different ungimmicked handlings. Frankly, in some cases, I think the ungimmicked version is better and cleaner.

The handling, the method and "stuff" are very simple, very doable, and very practical. It's hard not to give this a great rating. I feel that I have to dock it a bit for the above listed blunders. However it will only be a 1/2 point dock because the only one that can't really be overcome is Justin's poor explanation of the "Back to The Future" so called patter. Other than that, this is a killer product, and worth the cost. If you like bill changes (ala Patrick Page/Greg Wilson/Karl Hein/Richard Sanders/etc.) then you can stop here and not ever have to buy another version. You WILL use this.

Final Verdict:
4.5 Stars with a Stone Status of Complete and Total GEM!