Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries And Mentors Of Ricky Jay - 2012 - 3 Stars

Subject:  Sleight-of-hand master Ricky Jay and his development as an artist
Director:  Molly Bernstein

I hate the term 'magic' - indeed, this documentary prefers the term sleight-of-hand - but Ricky Jay is a magician.  The thing about magic, memorably spoofed on Arrested Development, is that 'effects' (as they're called here) are secrets.  They're all the magician has - once he's told you the trick, it's useless.  So naturally this is a documentary about the fact that Ricky Jay has been told many secrets by many different prestidigitators, but none of those secrets are shared here.  It appears therefore that the defining characteristic of these people is delight in knowing things that others don't know, and it takes years of getting to know these people and earning their respect before they'll share anything with you.  That's a bit of a thin premise to hang a documentary on, and without archival film of Ricky Jay's act, there wouldn't be much to this at all.  But there's archival film of Ricky Jay's act.