I watched David Copperfield on TV as a kid -- walking though the Great Wall of China, making the Statue of Liberty disappear, The Death Saw, the Bermuda Triangle boat.... I LOVED him. He WAS.SO.COOL. My mom got tickets for us to go to an "Intimate evening" with David Copperfield. HOW COOL huh?? If I had one of those life lists -- seeing him preform would have been on it.
Talk about the scales dropping from my eyes. All the plants WERE SO OBVIOUS (plants are the people in the audience that "he's never met before") even the little kids -- who were by the way - adorable. And the little boy totally stole the show (poor kid, if D.C. ever reads this he'll lose his job)
First, we had to wait an extra 20 minutes before David made his appearance - where we "got" to watch a movie about ho many awards he's won. Now I understand the buildup factor and a bit of patting himself on the back, but then after he finally came out -- he did s couple little "mind" tricks and then there was a 10 minute "David Copperfield in pop culture" movie -- basically where everyone who's ever said his name on TV and movies was showcased. Gratuitous back patting. BUT WAIT!! There's more! In the middle of the show (ostensibly to take up time while they set up a big illusion) there was another movie about HOW.GREAT.DAVID.COPPERFIELD.IS. -- granted he has started a foundation called Project Magic for kids in hospitals who need physical therapy. That is cool. Back to the show.
As I said the plants were obvious, his patter was to quick and contrived for believability. There was gratuitous sexual innuendo, including his "impregnate a woman without touching her trick" where he brings up an"audience member" young enough to be his DAUGHTER and has her grab his rear end during the performance (oh and he had the "husband" of another "audience" member fondle his "wife" similarly earlier in the show).
AND HE CURSED! Twice yelling out " J.C.!" and a command (like pass the ball to the nearest woman...)THAT put me off in a BIG WAY. I had an idea that there would be some innuendo -- I have seen him on TV, he always has pretty women, and tried to be s*xy. But the cursing was over the top, there were little KIDS there in his entourage! I was sitting next to an 11 year old boy (not mine) and I wanted clap my hands over his ears.
The amount of innuendo really put me off. He also made jokes about Lara Flynn Boyle and Mary Kate and Paris. Which were forced and stupid. And he only got sympathy laughter. OH! And he made a Snoop Dog reference -- and when the audience didn't laugh at THAT -- he complained that "You guys are really WHITE".
The couple of big illusions were cool -- I don't know how he did most of them. The make 13 people disappear one was pretty obvious. But the "going to an island" In our case it was "Hawaii" I have read that in other shows it has been Perth among other places. It was cool - because I don't know how he did it. But it was a hokey story and unbelievable.
I must say however -- My mother had a GREAT time, she loved it - and actually cried when the "father and daughter" were "reunited" in "Hawaii" .
For me -- I wish I had kept my illusions.
For another review of the Show.... Observations of a Misfit
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