Is master illusionist (and sometimes actor) Ricky Jay putting one over on us and filmmakers Molly Bernstein and Alan Edelstein? This documentary is so entertaining that really doesn’t matter.
The former Ricky Potash of Elizabeth, NJ, admits but doesn’t explain an estrangement from his family, and offers the briefest glimpse of his wife.
Aside from some references to misdirection, Jay offers no clue as to how he pulls off illusions with sleight of hand, but he performs them with such panache that you have little choice but to suspend disbelief.
Jay’s grandfather, an amateur magician, had him performing by the age of 4, and apprenticed him to the first in a long string of forgotten magicians with names like Cardini and Slydini.
“Deceptive Practice” draws heavily on Jay’s treasure trove of archival footage showing his mentors at work decades ago on television, as well as himself appearing in the 1970s on Dinah Shore’s TV show with Steve Martin.
There’s more recent footage from Jay’s live shows and an interview with Jay’s pal David Mamet, who directed some of those shows.
Whatever the unanswered mysteries of Jay’s personal life, just watching this magician’s hands at work with a deck of cards is positively mesmerizing.