"Perfection" DVD by Oz Pearlman
Suggested Retail USD$19.95
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"Perfection", a DVD by Oz Pearlman, contains one of the cleanest, most direct, and -- with a perfect mixture of sleight mechanics and performance psychology -- wonderfully magical versions of the "Sympathetic Thirteen" around. This is a powerful routine that hits on all cylinders.

In case you're not familiar with the plot -- I'll be the first to admit that it's not one that has been done to death, though I'll also cop to it being one of my favorites -- "Perfection" goes like this:

The performer brings out a deck of cards, shuffling them. The cards are spread and a spectator asked to take about half of them. The spectator shuffles her packet in any manner she wants -- from a perfect riffle shuffle to an overhand to sliding them all over the table; it doesn't matter -- while the performer shuffles his. Now the cards are dealt on the table face-up, one at a time, one from each packet. If the performer deals the Four of Diamonds, the spectator deals the Four of Hearts. If the spectator deals the 10 of Clubs, the performer deals the 10 of Spades... all the way through the packets, the cards are mated perfectly.

And that, in a nutshell, is "Perfection". Anybody can go by the plot and see that, done well, this can be a powerful routine, probably rivaling "Out of This World" in it's impact. This is powerful stuff. I've been doing a version of this -- an old, old version -- for years and it blows people away. I'll be replacing that one with "Perfection" starting immediately.

"Perfection", you see, just has too much going for it. It's extremely practical: the set-up is brief and the reset is non-existant. If push comes to shove, at the end the deck is clean and can be examined or used for other things. True enough, you'll be carrying a "one-trick-deck" but "Perfection" is worth it. But the selling point for me when it comes to this kind of effect? The spectator shuffles the cards however they want, as much as they want, and you can have multiple spectators do that shuffling. That's a huge thing, presentationally, and made me a believer in "Perfection".

As if that wasn't bad enough, Pearlman teaches a very slick version that plays impromptu using a stack of your business cards, a pen, and ESP symbols. Don't think for a minute that one's not going to get its fair share of a workout from me.

Okay, let's get to some details.

First, Pearlman teaches a simple version of this that uses a couple of simple gaffs. We're talking homemade, ancient, and you'll have them done in a couple of seconds. This is by far the easiest way of accomplishing "Perfection", but he also teaches a method for getting rid of one of those gaffs (though, considering the gaff, I can't imagine why you wouldn't use it). I mention this only because I know how some perfectionists are about such things and cards; for most folks it won't be a big deal at all.

Second, contrary to the ads, you don't go all the way through the deck -- you go over half-way though, and that's good enough. Pearlman being Pearlman, though, he's thought about this and relies on some psychological pieces that will frame it all in the spectator's mind beautifully; they will remember and believe you did go through the whole deck.

Third, this is not self-working; there are a couple of sleights involved and they could be considered rather gutsy. In reality, they aren't (full disclosure time: one of those sleights can be completely removed if you're overly skittish). Pearlman has structured this routine beautifully for hiding the work in plain sight. The work here is one of those things that seems like a 10 on the gutsy meter but is really closer to a 3. Practice until it's smooth, perform it confidently as Pearlman teaches it, and you're off to the races. As for the difficulty of them, they're fairly easy requiring a little practice but not a lifetime devotion to get straight.

Fourth, Pearlman really work the psychological points here and they help this effect tremendously. Do not think you're wandering into some deep, dark, tunnel of the human psyche here: the psychological bits fall strictly in the realm of performance psychology and deal more with the misdirection and timing Pearlman has put into the "Perfection" routine than anything else (with just enough "false memory" work to make it memorable). There's nothing difficult here at all, take place as natural parts of the routine and patter, and shouldn't make anyone as gun-shy as the term "psychology" does for most performers.

"Perfection" is a must-have for anyone interested in the effect, period. Even if you do a version of this -- and chances are you don't -- you'll appreciate Pearlman's work here and the thinking he put into it. "Perfection" is one excellent, magical, routine.

"Perfection" DVD by Oz Pearlman
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Material: 10
This is a powerful routine that plays with a little-explored plot and makes for some great magic. While not the easiest version of this around, it's the cleanest with some fine points that make this completely impossible in appearance. This is, in short, wonderful stuff.

Practicality: 9
Let's see... The set-up is brief, reset is as quick as putting the cards back in the case, there are no angle issues, and repeating this is a breeze. The only drawback? You'll be carrying a one-trick-deck around if you plan on using this for strolling. "Perfection", though, is worth the pocket real estate.

Quality of Production: 9
The production values are very high here with only minor flaws in lighting and navigation. Pearlman gets a huge thumbs up for the commentary track, though, which really makes this disc special.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Pearlman loves this effect; it shows in all the detail he goes into while teaching it and his enthusiasm to get every single fine point across to the viewer, which he does perfectly.

Presentation: 10
Pearlman plays this as a coincidence effect and it plays beautifully there. What Pearlman really brings to the table, though, is a remarkable mixture of the physical and psychological that bring this one into the miracle class of magic.

Shane

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