French Postcards – Chris Philpott
$24,99
http://www.magicaonline.com/french_postcards.htm

The Hype:
Chris Philpott's French Postcards is a wildly entertaining version of Paul Curry's Out of this World.

A study out of Cornell University recently made headlines: subjects could predict if a picture was going to appear on the left or right side of a computer screen but only when they used erotic pictures!
To test the theory, you show 12 postcards from various destinations and 12 French postcards (these are vintage nudes -- elegant, sepia-toned, upper-body nudity). The cards are mixed; then, without looking, a spectator sorts them by sensing if a card has sexual energy or not. The results are perfect!
The effect includes 24 custom-made postcards, written instructions and links to video instructions, updates, extra effects and a bonus comedy script by professional comic and magician, Bruce Gold. Also includes Jon Armstrong's "Out of this Blah Blah Blah," the cleanest OOTW handling ever!

My Take:
November 11, 1918, World War One, the War to End All Wars ends and Johnny comes marching home. But in his duffel bag, he made sure to bring some of those naughty French postcards. Today they seem pretty tame but the originals are not only highly prized, but highly priced. Compared to what is available to anyone on the internet, these are rated almost PG. Still, you will have to be careful where you perform this. No church pot luck suppers or blue and gold banquets. This is not a dirty trick but it is somewhat risque. I live in Florida (Heaven's Waiting Room) and I know most of the older guys enjoy this type of thing. I would assume that the ones not living in Florida do, too.

In the package, you get 24 postcards. Twelve of different destinations and twelve old time erotic cards. Although you get a booklet with the routine, an email to Chris will get you a link to online instructions with a couple of demo performances. Of course it is possible to do the routine strictly from the written instruction, I would encourage you to watch the video. It will clue you as to the timing and show you the reactions from the spectators. The cards are very subtly marked on the back. You could pass these out and no one will ever notice the markings. However, the routines Chris teaches do not require marking. I do an Out of This World effect that does require marks so this would be perfect for me.

Chris teaches both the Jon Armstrong and the traditional methods for this. He uses the Armstrong method in his performance and I think that is a good choice. It actually works better here. He does give a good suggestion for a routine using the marks that requires no set up. Looks like it could be fun but I am staying with the OOTW routine.

One problem I have always had with OOTW routines is that there is not really a story line. The actual thinking is brilliant and it is a real fooler. It just never caught me. Then I found a routine called White Star, which used photos purported to be victims and survivors of the Titanic. Now I had a story to tell that would keep my audience engaged. French Postcards accomplishes the same end and gets a few laughs along the way. The story line works very well but it is open to one of your own devising, such as the World War One theme.

This routine is easy to do and the props are charming. I have yet to see a product from Chris that I did not love and this is no exception. I would however suggest that even though this is pretty innocent, you be 18 to purchase it. We don't need angry parents causing problems. And, apart from being somewhat careful where you perform it, this is one you will carry with you. Excellent for bars, parties and just general get-togethers. Buy it and have fun.

Thanks so much for the review!
-Chris