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Denis Bastible Loyal user Buffalo, New York 293 Posts |
A fellow I know who is into magic and who makes most of his money as a standup comedian has come up with an act where he pretends to be a mentally challenged or "slow" magician. He wants to call himself "Rex the R*****d". I was asked to critique his act. I have a pretty warped sense of humor, but I really wanted to punch him in the face after seeing what he intends to do. From a magic standpoint, it just amounts to fumbling and/or exposure of simple and too well known effects. It is a very low based act that simply makes fun of the less fortunate. Unfortunately, it will likely play well to a drunk comedy club audience. Without resorting to violence (which I have obviously considered), how do you try to stop him??
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Denis Bastible Loyal user Buffalo, New York 293 Posts |
A happy ending to this previous post. This so called performer's wife was so angry at this act that it is on the shelf.
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RobAnderson New user 55 Posts |
Lol good... I have a warped sense of humor, but this just seems in poor taste...
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Bjarne New user Norway 53 Posts |
Good to avoid the exposure. The concept, combined with new, unusual or stupid metods could be great comedy. This guy got standing ovations during a Swedish talent competition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKZoIn_kyCE
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yankay37 Regular user Canada 176 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-08-13 10:17, Bjarne wrote: I totally agree. A real clever magician/comedian will pretend to expose a trick and just make a joke about it... reminds me of the duck from David Copperfield's show. |
Pomalo New user 45 Posts |
What do you think about this :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0JfSFqoga4 ? |
yankay37 Regular user Canada 176 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-03-21 16:38, Pomalo wrote: Honestly, I never liked the fact that they reveal the tricks... in fact... there's many things I don't like about them. (esp. Penn) However, even in this case, they are talking about the kind of slights that a spectator isn't going to do without weeks of practice. (and if I am not mistaken, they are also revealing thier own routine.. not someone else's work) |
Pomalo New user 45 Posts |
My opinion on this is that Penn & Teller's video illustrate very well how magic is not about the secret, and without knowing the secret, the routine is completly uninteresting.
I think we should stop clinging to old tricks and secrets. Stage illusion is packed with things that haven't evolved since the beginning of the century, and I'm not sure that our audience still enjoys them. I think that it doesn't matter to reveal secrets or not. TT is widely known. Make a handkerchief disappear with it, and someone in the audience might know how you did it. Make some salt disappear with it, and everybody will be clueless. Put on some gloves to make it disappear, and everybody will be clueless... It's a good nudge to refresh our effects and how we use them. |
BigWheel New user Earth near Washington DC 43 Posts |
There is a big difference between the video from Sweden and the Penn and Teller video and the question that started this thread. Having a character called "Rex the R*****d" isn't funny or magical.
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plink Special user 661 Posts |
Kohl & Co. and the guy who use to play on McHale's Navy(forgive my senior moment) both had terrific acts based on bumbling. Much was exposed, but not true magic methods. Steve Varro's Harvey Barfenfloss would also fit in the bumbling with out exposure category. It's a bit lazy to expose to try for a laugh.
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Horatio New user 85 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-08-13 10:17, Bjarne wrote: That's funny! How come he was using English for the earlier comments in the routine? Does it help him to sound pretentious (or odd perhaps?) before the comedy becomes more apparent? |
Bjarne New user Norway 53 Posts |
Yeah. He looks and sounds very serious in the beginning. Then suddenly you realize that he is not.
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