Review: There’s always something alluring about magic, even today in our rationally driven societies. For all our understanding, it’s still funny to see child like glee on an adult’s face after a card trick has just been performed. Of course, we all know about the magician and his desire to confuse audiences, but the assistant is never analyzed, never discussed: she is the eye candy and nothing more. Well, for the curious few Phil Noyes and Harry Pallenberg set out to understand these beautiful, but quiet creatures in the documentary Women in Boxes. Now, unfortunately, this study does not investigate to much depth, but rather introduces you to the characters and their lives before throwing the curtain down; avoiding any detailed analysis. If anything, Women in Boxes plays out as a cheesy magic act without the magic, and that will cause most adults to look at their watch while their kids fish for Gameboys. Admittedly, Noyes and Pallenberg pull together some unique and memorable moments while interviewing a few of the assistance, but they sort of get lost in the shuffle. For one, I’ve never heard of any of these magicians they interview, and while that can be understood, there at least a handful of world renown illusionists out there who could have added weight. The one they do manage to grab, Teller (from Penn and Teller) works wonderfully and manages to get laughs everytime he’s on screen, but he is more of an afterthought then anything else. The film is also sctzophrenic. Half the movie is about the girls, half the movie is about relationships between the magician and the assistants (who more often then not are married); half the film is semi-serious, half is insanely cheesy; half the film has good audio, half does not. The list goes on, but it is clear these two directors didn’t always see eye to eye and they just decided to try and mold a film out of two different approaches. Women in Boxes biggest flaw though is that it just seems outdated. Maybe back in the 60’s or 70s, this sort of shallow, overly cheesy style would have been a hit (or perhaps it would still be a hit if it were a stage performance), but in a film it just doesn’t work. While there are enough moments to keep audiences involved in the documentary, nothing is ever resolved or learned and I’ll bet there are plenty wondering if they can get their money and time back. Review by Matthew Abshire Informative: 2.5- you’re teased with some ‘insider information’ but never really given full access Entertainment: 2.5- if you like over the top cheesy, then this is your cup o’ tea Technical: 2.5- sometimes two heads are not better than one Overall: 2.5 – Women in Boxes still sorta keeps these assistants relegated to the background
 
Format: Theater Year: 2009 Running Time: 80 Min Distributor: J Cut Films Producer: Blair Noyes, Dante Larsen, Phil Noyes and Harry Pallenberg Director: Phil Noyes and Harry Pallenberg Date Reviewed: 6-10-2009 Story: Women in Boxes is the first film to uncover the story of the unsung hero behind the magician - the devoted, if not masochistic Magic Assistant who distorts her body into impossible positions while the magician cuts her in pieces, stabs her incessantly, sets her on fire, crushes her, dismembers her, restores her to life with a dramatic "Taa Daa," and takes a bow to wild applause. Who is the woman who would subject herself to such torture, not to mention, the Magician's Ego? Heretofore sworn to secrecy, this tough yet feminine group opened their homes, hearts and lives for the filmmakers and revealed the intensity of their involvement, their indispensability to the man in the spotlight; their back-breaking workload, and the reasons behind their devotion to this painful art and to the men they serve (from AFF website).