Comedy Helper Book
Stephane Bourgoin
Reviews
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For $20 bucks you get . . . some jokes . . .
How do you judge something like a book full of jokes? Do you judge them by how funny the jokes are? Isn't that a bit shallow? I mean what I find funny is not necessarily (or likely) to be what you find funny. What about the quality of the book?
Ok. Let's start there. It's paper back, 5x8, 60 pages, well produced and a solid product. Ok now what? What about the content? The best I can do is tell you how funny I thought the book was. It contains over 200 jokes ranging from (in my opinion) totally lame to freakin' hysterical. There are quite a few "classic" (read: hackneyed) jokes throughout, and some of them appeared to be "lost in translation." The book was translated from French to English by four different people, so . . . some stuff is lost in translation as is evident by the (sub)title: Liners especially for magicians & mentalists.
A variety of situations are handled in this anti-tome. Things ranging from lines for different props to "when things go wrong" to "handing out business cards" to "how to end a show," etc., are just a small sample of what you'll find here. I will say this, unlike its sequel, I did laugh out loud several times while reading this book. There, likely, are lines in here that everyone will use. It's a good mix, and some of you will like the lines that, frankly, suck and should not be used in a show unless your goal is to perpetuate the sad state of our art as a bunch of low-self-esteem-having-geeks using tricks and jokes to make themselves feel better.
There's good, bad and ugly in this book, in other words, something for everyone. Unfortunately, that's kind of what's wrong with this book. If you're trying to be a vaudeville act with cheesy banter with a stage counterpart then this book is the right generation for you.
If, however, you want to have a good act that is solid and entertaining, then this is not the book for you.
Final Verdict:
2.5 Stars with a Stone Status of grubble
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It wasn't until much later, when I was working as a professional, that it became very clear to me that these lines were keeping me from getting work, especially high-end gigs. I don't know about you, but I don't know many people that like being insulted. Likewise, educated people typically don't enjoy low-brow humor. My clients and their guests certainly didn't.
I also realized that being funny for a living was very difficult. If you look at any serious comedian or comedy magician, they have tens of thousands of hours of writing, failing, re-writing and honing behind their acts. It's hard work and there really aren't any shortcuts, even when you're naturally funny, which most magicians aren't (even though they may think they are).
So even though I did laugh at some of the lines in these books, I cannot recommend them to anyone in good conscious. I fear that they give you false confidence. Most importantly, I fear that, as I found, you may end up losing gigs if you use too much of this type of material in your show.
If you want a true Comedy Helper, take some improv classes. Find a mentor that's been successful in the business for a long time. And start working open mic nights. Unlike your buddies at the magic club, those audiences will be brutally honest with you.