Review: Deceptive Practice (2013)

[Mark Leeper]

DECEPTIVE PRACTICE: THE MYSTERIES AND MENTORS OF RICKY JAY
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

CAPSULE: DECEPTIVE PRACTICE tells the story of the mysterious
Ricky Jay, at age seven already a professional stage magician.
Today he is an expert in all things arcane, but particularly
sleight of hand and anything to do with feats of playing cards
or dice. He frequently cameos in films by David Mamet and
Paul Thomas Anderson. DECEPTIVE PRACTICE is simply Ricky Jay
telling his story--apparently for once with a minimum of
deception--and illustrated with photographs and footage of
some of the great stage magicians of Ricky Jay's time. One
almost expects that Jay would be performing some sort of trick
on the viewer, though none is apparent. But if we got it,
it would not be a deception. Rating: low +2 (-4 to +4) or 7/10

What is he doing there? Frequently you see Ricky Jay in films, but
he does not look like an actor. Jay looks just a bit scruffy and
squalid. He had a cameo as a mentor to two great magicians in THE
PRESTIGE. He was a high stakes poker player in David Mamet's HOUSE
OF GAMES. His films generally seem to have something to do with
stage magic or grifters or fooling people in one way or another or
perhaps just the arcane. When he speaks he gives the impression he
is not an actor but someone drafted off of the street. He seems to
be just being himself.

Who is he? His name is Richard Jay Potash, though he goes under
the stage name Ricky Jay. Put a deck of cards in his hands and it
will gracefully flow like it was a ballet dancer. Ask him for the
jack of spades and he will cut the deck and there it is. Or
perhaps he will just flick the deck and the jack will jump out on
its own. He may be the world's greatest expert on sleight of hand.
Writing on the history of the circus and of stage magic and of
spiritualism is a sideline, but he has written a lot of books on
the mysterious. His specialty is illusionism and conjuring, but he
has great knowledge in seemingly any field of the arcane.
DECEPTIVE PRACTICE: THE MYSTERIES AND MENTORS OF RICKY JAY is a
documentary telling the life and fascinations of a most mysterious
and hypnotic man.

The format of the film about his career is Ricky Jay telling his
own story with occasional narration from Dick Cavett. Along the
way he tells of the magicians he has met and many whom he learned
from. These are nearly forgotten stage magicians, absolutely
wonderful illusionists. They taught Ricky Jay the art and artifice
of illusion and in return they are here getting a short reprieve
from the oblivion of the forgotten. We get to see on film stage
magicians with mysterious names like Slydini and Cardini. Later
mentors included Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller. Many of these
magicians show up in archive footage.

Jay, now in his mid-sixties, grew up in Brooklyn in a middle-class
Jewish family. Early on he came under the influence of his
grandfather, an amateur magician. At age six, when most kids are
mastering the multiplication tables, he already had performed a
full magic act on television. Though his parents did not
understand his passion for magic, Jay knew that would be his life's
fascination. His grandfather introduced him to great stage
magicians who were his grandfather's and soon his own personal
friends.

But the stage magicians he met were not his closest friends. That
honor was reserved for decks of playing cards. He even named one
of his magic acts "Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants." He can easily
spend an entire day doing nothing but manipulating cards and
watching himself in a three-way mirror, getting his moves just
perfect. There are infinite possibilities for him in a simple deck
of cards. He sees possibilities with cards that nobody else would
have thought of. He wrote a book called CARDS AS WEAPONS declaring
that a deck of cards can actually be used for self-defense. I had
seen the book and thought it was a joke, but in the course of
DECEPTIVE PRACTICE he from a few feet away throws a playing card
about a quarter inch into the green hide of a watermelon. Can he
really do that or is it some sort of a trick? Probably nobody will
ever know.

Also along for the ride are several magicians and associates who
know Jay professionally and as friends interviewed to tell what
they knew or thought of Jay, David Mamet among them.

Ricky Jay's compulsion is not to be merely the best stage conjurer.
He very likely long ago achieved that. He wants his agility to be
perfect, and any imperfections he still has are not likely to be
noticed by the likes of me and you. DECEPTIVE PRACTICE is a
fascinating study of one man's mania to attain perfection. And
only he can judge how far he is from that goal. Ricky Jay right
now has the compulsive desire to be better than his fiercest
competitor, Ricky Jay of ten minutes ago. I rate DECEPTIVE
PRACTICE: THE MYSTERIES AND MENTORS OF RICKY JAY a low +2 on the -4
to +4 scale or 7/10. The film opens in Los Angeles on May 17, 2013.

Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2654360/combined>

What others are saying: <http://tinyurl.com/rt-jay>


Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2013 Mark R. Leeper

[Mark Leeper]