Penn and Teller: Fool Us - Series 2: Episode 3

In the third episode of the new series of Penn and Teller: Fool Us, four more magic acts competed to fool Penn and Teller and win the opportunity to open for them at their Las Vegas show. They Were:

Brian Brushwood – Noted for his work on the YouTube series Scam School, Brian Brushwood provided a very memorable routine with “a guy from the audience who’s willing to do absolutely anything” as his volunteer. He got the volunteer to pick a stack of dollar bills from a case containing several of them, before taking the bill at the top of his chosen stack. Brian then instructed the volunteer to sign his name on the dollar bill and read the serial number on it to the audience. From this point, what seemed like a conventional trick became far more shocking and interesting. Brian burnt the dollar bill with a blowtorch and mixed the ashes with Chocolate Sauce, before telling the volunteer to eat it. When the volunteer had done this, Brian made him lie down on a table and expose his chest. He then appeared to reach into the volunteer’s chest in a very gory fashion, removing a deflated, transparent, latex balloon from it. The balloon contained the signed dollar bill inside. This was a very shocking but enjoyable routine, and I liked Brian’s energetic and amusing presentation and use of his volunteer. Penn and Teller enjoyed the performance, but Brian did not fool them, as Penn noticed he was using techniques associated with “Physic Surgery” to carry out his trick, although he added that Brian’s spin on the routine was better than a version he and Teller had performed in the past.

Simon Pierro – “Technical Magician” Simon Pierro did a number of tricks involving an iPad, most of which featured him pulling images off the screen and into real life. He began by turning the home screen into a paper image, then producing a cord and pulling down on it to create a new home screen. Following this, Simon printed pictures by magic, made a tennis ball appear from the screen, blew wind at a video of a weather lady, and produced real beer from the screen through the use of a specially created tap attachment. He finished by teleporting a “Selfie” of himself and the audience taken on the iPad into a picture frame, then removing a physical copy. Tricks involving bringing virtual items to life are nothing new, but are fun to watch. Magicians need to be incredibly precise in order to perform virtual routines properly, and Simon succeeded in matching his movements with the action on the screen. Unfortunately, Simon did not fool Penn and Teller, but Penn did say that his climactic trick “fooled us three weeks ago, but not today”.

Handsome Jack – “Male Model” Handsome Jack (real name John Lovick) aimed to beat Penn and Teller at their own game by performing a routine in which he appeared to expose his secrets.  After claiming that he could perform only one trick in his time slot, he chose to do a routine with his specially-created “Handsome Jack Experience” handbills. Handsome Jack begun his routine by tearing up one of the handbills into pieces, before restoring it to its original state. He then revealed the method behind this simple trick by showing a “Grappler” hidden up his sleeve. Handsome Jack demonstrated the device, claiming that he had used it to switch the torn pieces of the handbill with a folded duplicate, then removed the torn pieces and showed that they were completely separate. In spite of this, he managed to rejoin the pieces, returning this second handbill to its original state. Handsome Jack started by emphasising comedy, and his routine was amusing throughout. The trick appeared to be too conventional at first, but the final twist was very impressive. When giving the verdict, Penn stated that if the pieces of paper had been shown as clearly separate during the final restoration, then Handsome Jack had fooled both him and Teller. Handsome Jack was able to confirm that he had clearly shown that the pieces were separate, so Penn and Teller announced that he had fooled them, and thus won the opportunity to open their show at Vegas.

Kyle Knight and Mistie – Husband-and-wife illusionists Kyle Knight and Mistie performed a routine involving several metal hoops, all of which had been examined by the audience. Kyle then got Mistie to stand in front of a post, and restrained her with the rings, which covered Mistie from her feet to the top of her head. Kyle then brought host Johnathan Ross on stage as a volunteer. The two covered Mistie with a sheet for a few seconds, and moved away from the rings to reveal that Mistie was no longer trapped by them. Instead, she appeared underneath the sheet, having even performed a magical costume change whilst underneath it. It was hardly an original trick, but it was performed well. Although Penn praised the decision to present an escape-themed illusion as a “Topological Mystery” instead of making it seem dangerous, Kyle and Mistie did not fool Penn and Teller. It seems to me that a stage illusionist relying on big boxes and unusual props will never fool the duo, as most Grand Illusions rely on the same key elements, and this ensures that their secrets are too widely known and visible. However, this does not make any illusionist who performs on Penn and Teller: Fool Us less enjoyable to watch.

Penn and Teller finished the show by performing their spin on the Bullet Catch, a trick that was declared the greatest magic trick of all time on Channel 5’s show 50 Greatest Magic Tricks in 2011. They got two gun experts from the audience to join them on stage, and choose a bullet each from two different rifle purses. The volunteers were instructed to sign the tip of their bullets and draw a picture of their choice on the casing. The two signed bullets were loaded into two rifles (which had laser sight), with Penn taking one rifle and Teller using the other. Penn and Teller stood behind a pane of glass each, pointed their guns at each other and fired. They managed to catch the signed bullets in their mouths, suffering no injuries whatsoever, and finished the routine by demonstrating that the bullets had been fired for real and shattered the protective panes of glass. The Bullet Catch routine is famous for its high levels of risk, which means that successful versions are nearly always impressive, but what makes Penn and Teller’s version special, in addition to the use of two guns instead of one, is their showmanship, as they manage to make the trick seem as genuine and dangerous as possible without losing their signature comedic style. Penn and Teller’s performances on this show always seem to provide lessons for the magicians who watch, and their ability to balance both the dangerous and humorous aspects of their act should be an inspiration to any magician trying to find a distinctive approach.