Keylicious (Trick) by Jeff Prace $24.95
22 minute DVD, 2 keys, 2 key rings, gimmick
Available at: http://www.jeffprace.com/keylicious.html
Jeff Praces Keylicious is a transformation effect involving a key and a key ring. The DVD is well produced. Mr. Prace does a fine job of teaching the material. He dutifully provides appropriate credits.
The gimmick is well made and will endure long after youre gone.
Click on the link above to watch a performance video. Toward the end of the video, onscreen text declares, Impromptu magic using a never-before-seen gimmick. For crafting that sentence, Mr. Prace wins the award for Best Oxymoronic Hype.
The performer hands a key on a key ring to a participant. He places his hand in his left pocket and removes it. The participant removes the key from the key ring and hands it to the performer, who holds it in his right hand. She examines the ring.
The performer hands the participant the key for examination and retrieves the ring with his right hand. He transfers the ring to his left fingertips. He places his right hand behind his back and then brings it forward. The performer retrieves the key with his right hand.
He places the ring into his right hand with the key and closes his hand in a fist. With his left hand, he reaches into his fist, removes the key and displays it at his fingertips. He pulls the key into his left hand and closes it in a fist. Simultaneously, he opens his right hand to reveal the key and the ring appears at his left fingertips.
The performer closes his right hand in a fist and turns it palm-down. He places the ring on the back of his right hand and it instantly transforms into the key. He displays the key at his left fingertips. He begins to hand the key to the participant and it transforms into the ring. He opens his right hand to display the key.
The performer places the ring into his right hand with the key and closes his hand in a fist. With his left hand, he removes the key from his fist and displays it at his fingertips. His right hand places the ring in his pocket. His left hand waves the key and it transforms into the ring. His right hand removes the key from his pocket.
To emphasize that he will not put the ring in his pocket, the performer puts the ring in his pocket. He immediately removes his hand which holds the ring concealed behind his closed left fingers. He places the ring into his left hand with the key and closes his hand in a fist.
The participant extends her palm-up hand. The performer places the key and ring onto her palm and closes her hand in a fist. The participant opens her hand and discovers that the key is now linked onto the key ring.
The unique gimmick allows you to instantly and visibly transform the ring into the key, much of the time with only one hand. But the sheer strength of the transformations creates a problem. They are so strong that an intelligent participant is likely to suspect that a gimmick is used. How else could it be done?
Magicians will know that a gimmick is used and their first guess of the gimmicks design will be correct. Some would tread perilous ground and proclaim that the effect is Too Perfect. Im not going there.
As for the handling, Im profoundly perturbed by Mr. Praces penchant for putting his paw in his pocket. This behavior does not indicate that Mr. Prace is a hormone saturated, sexually insatiable adolescent stud. It does indicate that his construction of this effect is lacking.
How does the crowd fail to notice that he goes to his pocket twice? How can they miss it? Mr. Prace must possess the ability to cloud mens minds, because I dont believe that the mightiest misdirection can blind the crowd to these actions.
Putting the ring in his pocket to illustrate that he wont put the ring in his pocket is an unfortunate hoot of the highest order!
I dont like it.
Mr. Prace graciously includes an unrelated bonus card effect.
PR Aces: The performer cuts the deck several times. He turns the top card face-up and in-jogged and reveals the Ace of Spades. To prove that there isnt another Ace beneath the Ace of Spades, he pushes the Ace flush on top of the deck while out-jogging the second card from the top. He swivels that card out of the deck and flips it face-up on top of the Ace to display an indifferent card.
He cuts off the top half of the deck, flips the indifferent card face-down onto the lower half and replaces the top portion. He displays the bottom of the deck to prove that the face card isnt an Ace.
The performer side-jogs the Ace on top of the deck and holds it in place with his thumb. He quickly turns his hand palm-down and then palm-up again. All four Aces appear in a spread on top of the deck.
A small set-up is required, but this surprising flash production is worth it.
I like it.
Mr. Prace also teaches an impromptu version of the effect. The performer openly removes the Aces and displays them face-up on top of the face-down deck. He flips them face-down and then buries each one in a different section of the deck. He produces them as described.
Ive never liked the idea of removing the Aces from a deck, then putting them back in the deck just so that you can magically produce them again. That practice feels odd or redundant. I prefer to simply magically produce them, without any prior handling.
I dont like it.
Ive recommended two of the four products that Mr. Prace has sent for review. I continue to be impressed by his creative ideas, even if I dont always like the end result of that creativity. I look forward to his future offerings.
Not Recommended
Keylicious by Jeff Prace
- Jeff Stone
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Re: Keylicious by Jeff Prace
An alternate point of view: Keylicious
Jeff Stone
Stone Cold Magic Magazine
Stone Cold Magic Magazine
Re: Keylicious by Jeff Prace
you can also judge some of it from the video and can see how he gets away with going to the picket twice via attention on handing the key and ring to them. http://youtu.be/yfCna7v66ug
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Banachek
Banachek
- Richard Kaufman
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Re: Keylicious by Jeff Prace
I'll disagree with Tom on this one.
It's a clever trick with some clever handling, but you also have to keep in mind that it's being done by a kid who is working at twice the speed he should (throwing away cool moments right and left) and whose presentational abilities are not great. A good performer could do very well with this.
And the bit about going to the pocket when you say you're not going to the pocket is a classic psychological ploy. I've seen good magicians get away with stuff like that all the time.
It's a clever trick with some clever handling, but you also have to keep in mind that it's being done by a kid who is working at twice the speed he should (throwing away cool moments right and left) and whose presentational abilities are not great. A good performer could do very well with this.
And the bit about going to the pocket when you say you're not going to the pocket is a classic psychological ploy. I've seen good magicians get away with stuff like that all the time.
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- Matthew Field
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Re: Keylicious by Jeff Prace
Richard and I have long disagreed about this. It's a 'move' Gregory Wilson uses and I hate it.
To me, it's like going back to the top of the deck in a card trick to unload -- ungraceful at best.
Matt Field
To me, it's like going back to the top of the deck in a card trick to unload -- ungraceful at best.
Matt Field
Re: Keylicious by Jeff Prace
Banachek wrote:you can also judge some of it from the video and can see how he gets away with going to the picket twice via attention on handing the key and ring to them. http://youtu.be/yfCna7v66ug
I'm sure some clever guy said something about confusion not being magic. The pace and presentation I think would confuse most people...
- Jeff Stone
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Re: Keylicious by Jeff Prace
I agree about Jeff's presentation (as mentioned in the review I linked off too above). However I do think that that props are well made and would be very valuable in the hands of a better performer. I gave the product a solid review based on the product quality and method and effect. I did not include the performance in my review because it has no bearing on the quality of the effect and the gimmick.
I like a lot of Craig Petty's work (e.g. Chop & Keymaster). I gave them good ratings. However, if I rated them for Petty's performance, I would have given them maybe 1 star. I think whether a magician is a good performer or not is irrelevant when it comes to reviewing a product (unless the product is meant to teach presentational skills).
In the case of the aforementioned Petty effects and the Prace effect, you're buying the gimmicks. Hopefully you'll do your own presentation and routining of them.
I like a lot of Craig Petty's work (e.g. Chop & Keymaster). I gave them good ratings. However, if I rated them for Petty's performance, I would have given them maybe 1 star. I think whether a magician is a good performer or not is irrelevant when it comes to reviewing a product (unless the product is meant to teach presentational skills).
In the case of the aforementioned Petty effects and the Prace effect, you're buying the gimmicks. Hopefully you'll do your own presentation and routining of them.