Tricks Can Go Wrong, written/directed/starring Luke Matthews, is a feature-length cinema verité about a street magician called Oliver who is desperate to break into show business. He is assisted by his chum Andrew (Eli Leonard), who helps film the awful street theatrics that Oliver’s stock in trade comprises, and he is always equipped with a giant boom mike for some reason (this ridiculous mike in an age of iPhones is a terrifically funny visual pun that signifies a sharp, creative style throughout).
So, who the hell are these guys? Andrew could not look more like both Coen brothers at once, even if he had plastic surgery, and Oliver, with his huge glasses and shaved head, resembles a mash-up of Walter Gropius and a one-man black and white Blue Man Group. So, they have style.
As the pair pollute their local downtown with street magic so bad it hurts, the film slowly explores both characters with some nicely down-to-earth drama, with a lot of the action developing a distinct Woody Allen flavor. There are lots of authentic-feeling scenes with both lads’ families, and a subplot to do with Andrew’s developing relationship with co-worker Christie (Taylor Stone, in a nicely bothered portrayal). This relationship is perhaps the most significant of a number of ticking clocks marking the dangers of Oliver’s immature obsession with fame. His awkward relationship with his macho, power tool devotee dad, Craig (a wonderfully colorful turn from Steve O’Connor), adds further light and shade to the question of how dangerous Oliver’s deranged dreams are.
Eli Leonard as Andrew captures audio from Taylor Stone as Christie, featuring the film’s signature oversized boom mic gag in Tricks Can Go Wrong.
“This is a loving tribute to the compulsion to perform…”
Tricks Can Go Wrong is a loving tribute to the compulsion to perform, and the core theme of this plucky underdog film – that of a man dying for his art even if that art is desperately bad – is pretty fun. You can’t escape the feeling that there is a good amount of talent and brains here, even if they spend the entire movie insisting otherwise. This film gets a lot right.
However, it gets a bit wrong too. The narrator and viewpoint never quite feel settled. While most of the piece is on-the-fly material being gathered by the two protagonists, sometimes we watch both leads on screen as things become fly on the wall, begging the question of who is filming? Also, while the story is packaged well it is all pretty low key, and a lot of the narrative beats are familiar. The ending, while rather excellent, is pat and ‘feel good’, and it presents a basic card trick as awesome when it just wasn’t. Not that this undermines the overall spirit of the picture.
Pretty much everyone on screen is convincing, Cinematographer Colin Oh’s black and white photography is sharp, and the score by Sylvain Kauffman is terrific. The whole thing comes in tight and lean thanks to the editing of Jack Lawrence Mayer. Finally, special mention must go to Harry Bromley-Davenport, playing an ancient, semi-comatose agent who offers punishingly incisive notes when shown Oliver’s execrable show reel. The fact that Bromley-Davenport is the director of 1982’s anti-E.T. The Extra Terrestrial exploitation smash Xtro is just the cherry on top.
Matthews should be pleased with himself; Tricks Can Go Wrong is a capable and worthwhile examination of the creative impulse, providing a good outlet for a wealth of talent. More, please.
"…capable and worthwhile examination of the creative impulse..."
