Ricky Jay and his Deceptive Practices

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

I've been a fan of magician Ricky Jay since the seventies when I bought his book on card throwing. We actually held a card throwing competition against another school while I was at Monte Vista.

I was hoping for a show about his act but instead was introduced to all the magicians that help shape Ricky Jay starting with his grand father. It would have been helpful to see more of what made Slydini and Cardini famous but all they had were short snippets and pictures and you had to rely on stories on why they were famous.

The doc also talked about Jay's story how he grew up in New York and was already performing at the age of 7. The movie just touched on his performances as well without really showing them. They interviewed Mamet, too. I did learn that Mamet directed Jay's show Ricky Jay and 52 Assistants. I wish this movie were more like that one. There were also a lot of arty shots of Jay practicing in front of a mirror.

It had some good points but you'd have to really like Ricky Jay to sit through all of it.

[Drunk Monk]

The thought of the nekkid lady throwing cards still makes me smile.

Thanks for the heads up. I would have probably wanted to check this out, but now feel content giving it a miss. No nekkid ladies throwing cards. No swordfights. Sounds dull.