Put-and-takers. Man they can be annoying. You may be thinking, "What is a put-and-taker." I'll tell
you.
"I'll take this pen and I'll mark this sticker right here like this. Then I'll put
this sticker right here on this coin like that. Now I'll take the coin like this and put it right
here like that..." You get the idea?
Man that can be annoying on one trick, but on a whole
DVD... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then the few times that Mr. Petty attempted
to do patter that was not so put-and-taker-ish, he ended up telling some long convoluted story that
was just a story. Then he did the trick after the story. Of course the trick was ver
put-and-taker-ish.
Ok, so off the rant for a moment. Let's examine the product. The DVD
comes with 2 coin bags and 9 routines. The opening of the DVD is some goofy, not-really-that-funny
skits, then it's off to the DVD main material. One thing to note is that this is DVD II of a series,
but it's DVD I of the coin bags. It's "The Magic of Craig Petty Volume II: Coin Bag Part I." Very
confusing at times.
First, the coin bag... It just looks a little bit too propy, but in all
fairness, I have not tested it yet, so maybe after I try it out a few times, I might edit my review.
Second, during the DVD presentations (some before live audiences, some just solo in front of the
camera) Mr. Petty spent a good time over-justifying the normal-ness of the bag.
Don't get
me wrong; there are some very beautiful magic moments you can do with this bag. For example, you can
visually cause a coin to appear to melt through the mesh of the bag, or invisibly toss a coin into
the air and see it visibly land in the bag. However, many of the moves were very much contrived. For
example, when doing a coins across routine - many of the tricks were different versions of coins
across - after each coin "arrives" in the bag, you have to take it out and put it back in the bag in
order for the trick to be able to continue.
Much of the material on this DVD could have
been accomplished without the bag to dilute the effect.
Finally, on the tricks, there is
one called "Wild Thing" which I've watched twice now, and I still have no idea what the effect is.
It was done with no speaking (only music). It looks like he puts the coins in the bag, then puts
them in a coffee cup... tada!
Based on the name, I think the coins maybe changed color, but
if they did, the coins were not contrasting enough to notice.
On the back of the DVD case,
you will find these exact words: "The coin bag has been around for years, chances are you have one
lurking at the bottom of a drawer somewhere. Craig first saw the coin bag about 13 years ago and
having brought it he played with it for a little, then promptly forgot about it." Later on the DVD
case, the coin back is referred to as a "cheap trick." Also, the claim is made that Mr. Petty has
created 100 different ideas for the bag and that 9 of the "very best" effects are on this DVD.
I've never heard of the coin bag, even though we "all have one lurking... in a drawer
somewhere," and if these are the best 9, then the other 91 should be sacrificed to the god of junk
drawer magic.
Here's the kicker... I'm still going to recommend this product (slightly).
Mr. Petty is a very like-able and nice guy. I think I might even enjoy watching a show of his (as
long as he left the coin bag to "lurk" in the drawer). I bet he'd even be fun to hang out with...
Also, the DVD quality was top notch. There are a couple of moves that I found valuable. Frankly, a
lot of the stuff I thought of for the bag would be really cool for kid's shows.
Also, it's
clear to me that Mr. Petty has put a lot of time into handling the bag. He handles it very well and
confidently and smoothly. One word of warning: I would NOT use this bag for a coin vanish... to me
it was too obvious that the bag was hiding the coin. The bag looked heavy; the way it would swing
was a dead give away. However, for an appearance of a coin, it's brilliantly beautiful.
So
when all is said and done, it's probably worth it for the few gems that you may find on it.
Secondly, if you're a children entertainer, I think you will find many, many uses for it.
