CAANDY by Chris Mayhew

[Tom Frame]

CAANDY (Video download) by Chris Mayhew $10.00
28 minutes
Available at: http://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic- ... ds/caandy/


In 2008, Chris Mayhew released A Clockwork Apple, which I enjoyed and recommended in my 10/17/08 review. Mr. Mayhew is back and this time around hes tackling the Card at Any Number plot. Click on the link above to watch Mr. Mayhew perform his version of the effect.

As you can see, Mr. Mayhew possesses a quirky sense of humor. During that performance segment, I found his remarks to be mildly amusing. I imagine that his young peers will think that he is much funnier.

This is a strong effect and I like it. His use of the value/suit card creates a delightful swindle. While the participant believes that the card randomizes her selection, it actually ensures a successful outcome.

Mr. Mayhew dutifully cites his inspirational sources. At the heart of his methodology is a principle from Stewart James Spell of Mystery, first marketed in 1929. I commend his creative application of that principle. Its a clever idea. A prearranged deck and a bit of mental calculation are required.

Mr. Mayhew did not script or rehearse his instructions and it shows. He does a poor to passable job of teaching the material. His instruction jumps around and often lacks important detail. In the final portion of the video, we see that he has moved the production into a bedroom, where two remaining instructional sequences were recorded at a later date, seemingly as an afterthought.

The camera work is amateurish and annoying. At one point, the cameraman fails to capture the action. For some inexplicable reason, Mr. Mayhew didnt re-shoot this brief segment. Instead, he decided that the most mature, responsible course of action would be to insert an on-screen graphic stating, Camera Man Retard Moment! Im sure that this tasteful remark will win him a legion of fans from the developmentally disabled community.

Mr. Mayhews recommendation for handling a potentially troublesome scenario is to punch the participant in the face! Hardy har har. He seems to delight in providing a detailed description of how to deliver a debilitating Oxjaw punch. If only he would have provided as much detail in teaching the effect.

This is a very close call. On the plus side, I like the effect and the method. Im impressed by Mr. Mayhews creativity. I appreciate that this video is twice as long and half the price of most other one-trick videos.

On the minus side, Im very disappointed by Mr. Mayhews lack of preparation, the sloppy camerawork and editing, and how his ill-conceived attempts at humor further erode the already low quality of instruction.

Well, damn! Ultimately the magical goodness outweighs the sloppy production values and foul aftertaste. But not by much.


Recommended

[Richard Kaufman]

It's an old story: a great trick delivered on a crappy mimeographed sheet of paper 70 or 80 years ago (by someone like Annemann or Al Baker) was easy to recommend over a nicely produced book full of boring magic.