Product description : I recently reviewed Fortuity which was a very good trick in my opinion and here we are again with another Alakazam Magic product, this one is Expansion by Daniel Bryan and Dave Loosley. The idea here is pretty simple, it’s more like a bar bet than a magic trick, that’s what you could think at first. You show a card with a hole on it (or let them select a card and punch a hole) and ask them if they think it is possible to pass a coin straight through this hole. Of course, they will say no, you take the card, you stretch the hole, put the coin through it and put the hole right back in place in a very visual way ! Coin and card can now be examined.
Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $30 and you can find it in nearly every Murphy's magic « partner » shop !
What you get : You get a little cardboard DVD sleeve, very well printed, I do like the artwork that has been done on it ! Inside, you’ll find an actual DVD, it was the same with Fortuity, maybe Alakazam did understand the fact many people do prefer DVD over online video ? Anyway, the video is well made, as you would expect from this company and everything is nicely taught. You’re also supplied with the gimmick which is made by Rob Bromley, the guy who I consider to be the best gimmick maker in the world, and this may be his finest creation/ The gimmick is INVISIBLE, it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen, I chose a red one and it’s still as undetectable as it should be. I’m really impressed by this, it’s a piece of art ! Overall, for the price asked, you get a wonderfully made gimmick as well as a nice DVD, not disappointed at all.
The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.
THE CONS :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]You have to carry a gimmick in your deck, so it has to be added during the course of your routine or doing this effect first (even if I don’t think this is a good starter).
[if !supportLists]– [endif]You have to carry a card with a hole punched in it or carry a hole puncher, in both case, it’s not very practical.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]One of the side of the “slot” is squared when the other one is rounded, I don’t know why they didn’t do it rounded too..
THE PROS :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The visuals on this are insane ! This is like a cartoon, you have an ACME Hole and you can stretch it to turn it into a slot very easily and visually. And of course, the moment the hole snaps back into place is just gorgeous.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The gimmick is the best one I’ve ever seen of its kind, you just can’t see the construction line, it is virtually invisible. I was afraid the colour red would led to a more visible gimmick but you can hold it in daylight 10 cm from spectators eyes and they wouldn’t see a thing ! Kudos to Rob Bromley who did an amazing work on this.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]It’s very easy to do, you just have to do a double lift and you can do both the setup and clean up ! So you can completely focus on your routine and presentation.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]I like the fact it begins like a bar bet and turns into a very magical moment, it completely throws off the spectators.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]It’s not that expensive for a gimmick which is that well made, I can tell you a lot of time and work have been put into this.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The card can be left as a souvenir at the end, so people will remember what you did ! I do think it’s an amazing souvenir, which will led to conversations and people telling how you managed to stretch that hole.
Overall rating : If you like the visuals of this, you can’t be disappointed with the material you receive, this is a very cool routine which will fit into many pro and amateur set, still not sure whether I would use it on a daily basis but I really really liked it ! 3.5/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, as I said, a double lift is the only sleight you need, I would say 2/5 stars.
Similar products : Such routine which allows you to do a very visual cartoon move are not very common, Hollow 2.0 by Menny Lindenfeld could be an idea.