Magic Tricks

I bought this video specifically for Chris Kenner. I wanted to see what trick he taught, how he performed it, and any other things I might see or learn about him. So for me, this video is a 4 out of 5 stars. Chris explains his philosophy about performing “off stage.” This mental trick is the one he performs because it is not a card / coin trick. The only problem is Vinny Grosso does not do the first part of the trick the way Chris Kenner taught him. The trick worked fine for Vinny, but he did not do Chris’ trick exactly the way Chris taught him. Vinny had to learn 14 tricks very quickly for this 3 DVD series, so he does not quite perform the tricks as he was taught by the magicians on these DVDs. Chris Kenner’s teaches his trick very well. It is a simple one you already probably know or could create yourself. What I paid for was Chris Kenner’s overall magic viewpoint, any fine points about why he performs this trick the way he does, and his opinions about impromptu magic. You get a very, very quick peak at his coin purse (he never pulls out any coins). This may not mean much to some people, but I am glad I was able to see this on the video. From this video, you can “piece together” a picture of the magic items Chris does carry and when he performs them.
I don’t see myself ever performing the other tricks on this video. It would not be fair for me to comment on them since I knew when I bought this video I only wanted to see Chris Kenner.

Pros: the audience was very challenging for Vinny. This is a good thing. One of the complaints some people have about L&L videos is the audience is the always the same, too complacent, etc. This audience was very challenging. During Vinny’s performance of Mac King’s knife swallowing trick, they were “burning” Vinny’s hands. The tips Mac gave Vinny worked and the audience relaxed and Vinny pull off a great performance.

Cons: Most magicians already have these tricks in their magic libraries. Vinny doesn’t perform the tricks completely the way he was taught because he has not had enough time to properly learn them.

Summary: I bought this video for Chris Kenner and I am completely satisfied. I gave it a 4 out of 5 because Vinny does not perform the first part of the trick the way Chris taught him. The other tricks might suit you. In my opinion, the weakest trick on the video is “Sugar Packets” by Bill Herz. That’s just my opinion, your mileage may vary.