Raw and uncensored, this interactive hypnosis show is a unique comedy experience in which audience volunteers become the stars. Signature stunts, including R-rated acts, are accompanied by Cools razor-sharp timing. This show also features a four and a half minute movie viewed on a state-of-the-art 3-D projection screen that brings the audience on stage and through the screen on an adventure to some of the hilarious things one can do while in Las Vegas.
*Prices may be subject to additional taxes and fees.
**Show schedules may vary. Please see above link for more information.
(This show was reviewed in the September 2005 LVA, some of the information contained in this review may no longer be accurate.)
The Anthony Cools Experience at Paris is an adult show (18 and over only) centered squarely on sex, sexual innuendo, vulgarity, nastiness and, of course, fart jokes. (In 23 years of publishing the Advisor, this is the first time that the preceding milder "f" word has appeared within its pages.)
The marquee bills Cools as "The World’s Greatest Uncensored Hypnotist," so you know from the outset to expect a risqué show. What the warning doesn't do is prepare you for just how heart-pounding, foot-stomping, laugh-a-minute, and non-stop funny this extravaganza really is.
Cools wastes no time picking his subjects, weeding out the volunteers until he has the most susceptible ones, then putting them under his "spell." Are they actually hypnotized? Probably, but it really doesn't matter whether they are or not; half the show’s appeal is the comedy bits and quick wit, and the entertainment value is there regardless.
We can't write about most of what goes down, but here are a few samples that will help you decide if this is your kind of humor.
Every time the chorus to the Johnny Cash tune, "Ring of Fire" is played ("I fell into a burning ring of fire"), one of the hypnotized thinks that his butt is in flames and the only way to put them out is to scoot across the stage. In another bit, the entire cast is on stage auditioning for a porn movie by simulating sex with chairs. Embedded in every chair is a wireless camera that broadcasts the scenes on large video screens. And here's a third. One of the hypnotized women's genitalia talks to her—as well as to the audience, loudly—whenever her name is mentioned. Accordingly, the woman tries to get her private part to pipe down, covering it up with her hands, crossing her legs, lying on her stomach and shushing! At the show's end, Cools awakens his impromptu cast with instructions to go home and engage in the best sex they've ever had.
Our take is that if you enjoyed movies like Dodge Ball, American Pie, and Jackass, you'll be rolling in the aisles. If you're a bit more sophisticated, you might not (but still might). Also, the act is highly male oriented (in other words, chauvinistic). Bachelor parties will go berserk, but women sensitive to this brand of humor should definitely take a pass. Buy the cheap seats, since much of the show uses video I-mag to get close-ups of "Cools' Fools," and buy your tickets from the Paris box office to avoid Ticketmaster service fees. Parlay with a ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower before or after the show.