Mona Lisa's Secret Review

Official Review

August 28th, 2010 8:23am Rating:

Reviewed by Joe Diamond

This is a great product. I’ve actually written a script for it and have been doing it in my professional card work. I’ve also heard of some other professionals elsewhere in the country that have been using this effect to great results. I honestly won’t be surprised if this becomes as popular as Max Maven’s B’Wave. I predict many knock offs & ‘updated versions’ in this trick’s future as well. The effect is exactly as it says in the add, so I won’t go into it here. The cards are high quality in printing, card stock, & finish. It doesn’t feel or look like a packet trick. To the audience, these are just mini reproductions of famous pantings. You also get extra cards so you can repeat the effect with a different selection, and with a red or blue backed Bicycle deck. These are huge additions that make this a near perfect magic product. I’m going to make a bold statement & say this is a packet trick for professionals only. I don’t think hobbyists will get a lot out of it because there aren’t too many moves or new gimmicks. The price is also a little high for something you are just gonna play around with and maybe perform only once or twice for your magic buddies. For professionally made props that will last, and that you will use, the price is totally justified. It’s also an effect designed for entertaining & amazing laypeople. I’ve been doing it regularly at gigs, and the reactions are always more than satisfying. While a card is originally selected, it doesn’t feel like a card trick. It looks like magic to laypeople, and it has automatic emotional investment because we all care about the Mona Lisa. I don’t feel it’s a closing effect, but I think it’s a perfect effect to do right before your big finish. It’s a small trick, you can really only do it for two or three people but that’s ok. It gives the effect a quiet, more intimate feel. The instructions are very clear, and the author assumes you already know how to perform moves like getting a break. It also gives genuine background information on each painting so you can come up with your own presentations. What a concept! Encouraging people to come up with their own scripts, and not just use whatever the instructions say. My one criticism, which may sound like I’m being really picky, is that the paper the instructions are printed on is very thin. The instructions are in booklet form, and the cheap paper makes it feel, well, cheap. For the price, they could have sprung for some stiffer paper to make a better looking booklet. That said, the instructions are clear, in depth, and you should have no problem learning from them. All in all, this is the only effect I’ve received for review that has gone into my professional work. This is a very special piece of card magic. If you are a professional close up magician, and want to add something different to your show, I strongly recommend this effect.

Product info for Mona Lisa's Secret

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You show your spectators several masterpieces of art printed on playing cards. One of the paintings is the famous Mona Lisa.

After showing all four paintings, you point out, that one of the paintings is a forgery. When you show Mona Lisa a second time, she is suddenly holding a Bicycle® playing
card in her hand. Turning the card around, the spectators are surprised to see Mona Lisa painted from behind. She has to be the fake!

But that is not all, imagine the shock when Mona Lisa reveals she is holding the same card a spectator has previously chosen!