Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie Review

Shouldn’t what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas?

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater September 29, 2009

Magicians exploit their inherent mysteriousness, fraternize though esoteric, “members only” style secrets, and wow audiences with the seemingly impossible. Jugglers and acrobats impress with feats of incredible dexterity and strength. Psychics, mediums, and spoon-benders tap into the great unknown, beguiling the impressionable in the process. But ventriloquists? Ventriloquists have one hand up the rear end of a miniature wooden person while clearly carrying on both sides of a conversation. Put so simply, it sounds deranged, lunatic, schizophrenic. It conjures images of a creepy uncle with an even creepier mini-me performing at a birthday party, or a sad-looking man in a velvet suit jacket trying in vain to rouse the sleepy denizens of an old folks’ home. Ventriloquism has always had a shabby tent on the back lot of the sideshow. Yet somehow, almost inexplicably, Terry Fator is getting paid one hundred million dollars for a five-year stint doing his ventriloquism act at The Mirage in Las Vegas. Either Fator is damn good at what he does, or the world has gone topsy-turvy and the end is nigh.

Terry Fator’s success story is like a refresher course in American Dream 101. Born and raised in the podunk nowheresville of Corsicana, Texas—reputed Fruitcake Capital of the World (one isn’t sure if they mean the gross Christmas confection or, well, weirdos)—Fator took up ventriloquism at the tender age of ten, quickly earning the disapproval of his impossible-to-please father. In the mid-1980s, Terry cut his teeth (no, not on rock-hard fruitcake) as the mulleted front-man of country rock outfit Texas the Band. You know, as opposed to Texas the State, Texas the Steakhouse, and Walker, Texas Ranger. After discovering that audiences went absolutely ape when he worked his Walter T. Airedale puppet into the band’s performances, Fator set out on a solo career in ventriloquism, paying his dues for two decades on the low-paying, low-exposure festival and state fair circuit. Success was slow in coming. At his lowest point, he did a gig for an audience of one at a theater meant to hold one thousand. By the time he managed to secure a spot on the second season of America’s Got Talent, Fator was borrowing money to pay off bills and was seriously contemplating a career change. His chances didn’t look hopeful. When he walked on stage for the first time, judge David Hasselhoff (a.k.a., The Hoff) actually blurted out, “Oh no, a ventriloquist.” Nonplussed, Fator hoisted Emma Taylor—his not-so-dumb, incredibly cute female dummy—and belted out a striking rendition of Etta James’ “At Last.” Less than a year later, having won the contest, Terry Fator signed a five-year, one hundred million dollar contract with The Mirage—the largest deal in Las Vegas history.

So, is the show worth a whopping nine figures? After reading about Fator’s rags-to-riches story and watching Terry Fator: Live From Las Vegas, I’d love to be able to say yes. I’d love to be able to say that Fator undoubtedly deserves every penny, that the show is a masterful display of puppetry and impersonations coming together to create a magical evening of comedy and song. The thing is, I just don’t get it. Fator is a fantastic ventriloquist—he’s got a powerful, versatile voice that’s capable of channeling everyone from Elvis and The Bee Gees to Michael Jackson and Louis Armstrong—but his comedy shtick is, at best, patently inoffensive, and at worst, cringingly unfunny. He’s got his craft down pat, but after the songs have been sung and all the puppets have been returned to their trunks, the show leaves you with nothing but the obvious realization that Terry Fator can sing without moving his lips. It’s basically pure, substance-free entertainment.

The show works like this: Fator brings out one of his puppets—like Maynard the stuttering Elvis impersonator or Julias, the African-American puppet that begins to feel a little too much like Fator is doing blackface—and the two perform someone else’s song. Then, puppet and puppeteer patter through an inane interlude, peppered with cornball jokes. Ba-dum-ching! Enter next puppet, and repeat. Fator breaks the routine by stepping out twice on his own to sing songs, including The Bee Gees’ “I Started a Joke” and Michael Buble’s “Home,” but a ventriloquist without a dummy is just a guy doing karaoke—no matter how good he is, he’s just aping the original artist. Likewise, Fator’s Michael Jackson bit is predictable and ill-advised—expect crotch grabs, clumsy moonwalking, a baby doll covered with a blanket, and an impersonation that’s a little too smarmy. In the light of MJ’s recent death—and subsequent beatification by the media— the act isn’t offensive, as you might expect, just tedious. It really says something that one of the shows highlights is when Fator flubs a line, speaking through his Walter T. Airedale puppet with Jackson’s girlish voice. Perhaps I’ve been too harsh. Fator is unbelievably good at what he does, and fans of Vegas stage shows will do plenty of ooh-ing an ahh-ing while watching his puppet performances. There’s an admittedly great bit where Fator brings a burly audience member on stage and transforms him into a puppet version of Cher, while he dons a Sonny wig. And if you’re not already burned out on cougar-ism, this year’s big cultural gag, Fator introduces Vikki the Couger, a 49-year old puppet who plays her men like she plays her blackjack—anything over 21 is a bust. The show is at its most risqué when Vikki says, “I do Tae Bo three times a day. He’s my pool boy.” Or how about this bon mot: “I’m like a fine wine, the older I get the easier I go down.” The show has its moments, but for a production worth a cool one hundred mil, the jokes are decidedly low-rent. Though Fator has done a lot to legitimize ventriloquism—the red-headed stepchild of stage acts—it’s still unfathomable to me that he’s raking in an inordinate sum of money for what ultimately amounts to a glorified puppet show.

Performances:
1. Emma: "At Last"
2. Winston: "Crying"
3. Winston: "Staying Alive"
4. Terry: "I Started a Joke"
5. Walter: Yodel
6. Maynard: "Love Me Tender / Don't Know Much"
7. Julius: I Can Sing With Soul
8. Julius: "Only You / Let's Get It On"
9. Michael Jackson and Walter Duet: "Boot Scootin' Boogie"
10. Terry: "Home"
11. Duggie: "Come Sail Away / Sharp Dressed Man / Sweet Home Alabama"
12. Vikki: "Don't Cha"
13: Sonny and Cher: "I Got You Babe"
14: Maynard "Viva Las Vegas"
15: Winston: "What a Wonderful World"

Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The dazzling neon lights of Las Vegas are reproduced in miniature for Terry Fator's clear and colorful 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. Shot with ten HD cameras, the film achieves full coverage, from the tightest close-ups of Winston the Impersonating Turtle—where you can make out individual threads of felt—to super-wide shots that still retain plenty of clarity. There's a little bit of digital noise, especially in the darker crowd shots, but overall the image is bright and clean. The lights behind Terry shift in a constantly evolving spectrum of vivid colors, from flush magentas and cherry reds to deep blues and cool greens. Sometimes the colors seem too intense, and you'll notice a slightly splotchy quality to some of the hotter bursts. Likewise, skin tones are very natural, but the contrast under the stage lights can occasionally get somewhat overheated, blowing out facial details in a couple of shots. Black levels are strong, though, and you'll never notice any crush—just check out Terry's slightly glossy black suit. The look here is very realistic, and it seems this transfer does an excellent job of recreating the actual colors and lighting of the original performance.

Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Terry Fator's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is no dummy, providing the film with a punchy musical experience and plenty of front-row ambience. Terry's back-up band is spread nicely throughout the channels; the core pieces are front and center, but there's a nice bleed into the rear speakers, where you'll also hear horns rip and the crowd go wild with clapping and cheering. Bass is tight and defined, the middle range is spacious and clean, and the track has no trouble handling the upper registers, like when Walter T. Airedale does his high-speed, high-pitched yodeling routine. You'd think a ventriloquist's show would suffer from a fair amount of mumbling, but the conversations between Fator and his puppet friends are strikingly clear, and the vocals during the songs are expertly balanced in the mix. This track may not bring down the house with sheer sonic output, but it's an excellent representation of Fator's act.

Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Feature Commentary with Terry Fator, Writer Rick Kerns, and Director Mark Goffman
Here Fator discusses the origins of his characters, his apparent ADD, the growth and evolution of the show, and his strained childhood relationship with a disapproving father. Meanwhile, Kerns discusses the trial and error process of writing comedy bits for the show and director Mark Goffman chimes in about the more technical aspects of the production. Fator dominates the conversation, and yeah, he just inked a one hundred million dollar deal, but he comes off as a bit too self-congratulatory.

Feature Commentary with Terry Fator and his Crew of Thousands
Here Fator's characters get to have their say about the concert, but outside the context of his show, the voices get old pretty quickly. Maybe it's just me, but I thought this track was just about insufferable from the get go. And where is this supposed "Crew of Thousands?" I only counted maybe seven different voices.

The Terry Fator Story (SD, 45:34)
From his childhood in Corsicana, Texas—Fruitcake Capital of the World—to a $35,000 per night luxury suite in Las Vegas, there's no denying that Terry Fator's life is the American Dream writ large. This documentary follows him through his formative years, exploring the whys and hows of his gift for (motionless) gab, and goes on to cover his success on America's Got Talent and the creation of his gig-of-a-lifetime in Las Vegas. Features loads of embarrassing footage from the 1980s, plenty of backstage material, and interviews with Fator, his family, his manager, and his comedy writer, The Terry Fator Story is a decent watch for fans but will probably prove to be overkill for less enthusiastic viewers. The documentary is available with optional commentary by Fator, Rick Kerns, and Mark Goffman.

Behind the Puppets Featurette (SD, 18:14)
If you've sat through The Terry Fator Story and the film's audio commentary, there's a lot of overlap here as Fator describes the origins of all of his puppets.

Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Whereas magicians have mystery on their side, ventriloquists have to work much harder to sell their illusion, since everybody knows exactly how it's done. I do have to admit that Terry Fator is, hands down, the best ventriloquist I've ever seen. I'm just not sure that that's saying much. Though Simon Cowell has billed Fator as "one of the top two entertainers on the planet," I remain unconvinced. Still, if you're a fan of Fator and his cast of Muppet-wannabes, Terry Fator: Live From Las Vegas will scratch your itch for puppet shenanigans with a sharp, high-definition image and ultra-clear sound. For the uninitiated, though, I wouldn't give this anything more than a rental.