Penn & Teller: Off the Deep End

I am a big fan of Penn & Teller. I've seen all their episodes of "Penn & Teller Bull****" (I don't think IMDb lets me use the exact title) and even went to Las Vegas to see their show (I was in the center on the second row--as I said I am a big fan). I also have tried over the years to see them every time they appeared on TV. So, in this context, I would say that "Penn & Teller: Off the Deep End" was a disappointment. Now I am not saying the show is bad--it's quite good. But style-wise, it's not everything I love about the team. On "Penn & Teller Bull****", they were abrasive, insightful and controversial. And, on their other TV appearances and their stage show, they were gross--with LOTS of blood! Alas, you'll see none of this in this much more family-friendly show.

The TV special was filmed in Nassau, Bahamas and Grand Cayman--so the setting sure is lovely. And, because it's there, the magic tricks all have the beach as a backdrop or were filmed under water--yes, under water! It's all very novel and fun. What I liked best is something Penn & Teller DO often do--they show how they did the tricks! And, they just about always are wearing suits--even in the water! All in all very enjoyable with one minor exception--the inclusion of Aaron Carter singing during one of the tricks. I just am not an Aaron Carter fan.

From the average home-viewer's point of view, Off the Deep End was another special from the Bad Boys of Magic, this time set in front of a beautiful tropical island background. From a magician's point of view, the special was nothing short of phenomenally ground breaking. Sure, Penn & Teller did a few obligatory card tricks, but what really sold the show was the promise that at the end, they would vanish a submarine. Oh, yeah. And many of the tricks were UNDERWATER! Some of the tricks were cute at worst, some were huge ordeals that didn't work right from day one, and others weren't even tricks at all (we have Star Price to thank for making them actually look like tricks). Taking classic routines like Sawing a Lady in Half, Metamorphasis, and the Million Dollar Mystery underwater, as well as doing a comedy/magic routine below the surface, Penn & Teller have once again revolutionized the craft of magic, and seemingly showed you every step of the way (but, like so much else they do, they lied to you).

The two-hour special, which is a long time slot for magic, built up to the finale smoothly, keeping us interested with other well-crafted illusions. A new element of suspense was added to the Houdini Trunk Escape by dropping the trunk (and supposedly Teller) into a frenzy of hungry sharks, and they managed to almost kill one of their lovely assistants when she lost her air supply hose during the Sawing in Half illusion. But surrounded by a team of scuba divers, Penn & Teller went below the surface for their final illusion, and attempted to vanish an Atlantis class submarine.

The DVD also includes additional footage that was cut from the original script. Teller's edit of the Comedy/Magic Routine is included, as is a beautiful desalination trick, and a moving tanline illusion.