'Perfect Bid' is a perfectly entertaining documentary about 'The Price is Right'
In 2008, a contestant on CBS' “The Price is Right” blurted out a very strange, very precise bid for his grand-prize Showcase haul that included a trailer: $23,743.
In the broadcast clip, which has gone viral a few times in the ensuing 10 years, host Drew Carey reveals that the bid is exactly right — and does so with almost no inflection in his voice, no hint of excitement, no amazement over a contestant doing something that no one else had ever done since the game show's inception in 1972.
A new documentary reveals the story behind that bid, and the man who says he — not the contestant on stage — was actually responsible for it.
“Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much” is a 72-minute treat for “Price is Right” fans that lets math professor Ted Slauson spin stories of trying to beat the game made famous by Bob Barker. Slauson queued up for the studio audience more than 30 times, watched the show every day on television and kept a detailed journal of the winning price for every prize featured on the show.
Barker himself, who is now 94, gives an interview for the film, as does the show's pre-Carey producer Roger Dobkowitz; both men seem delighted by Slauson, whom we see openly feeding winning bids to contestants from the audience in the documentary's many archival clips. Carey doesn't seem nearly as charmed in clips repurposed from “Kevin Pollak's Chat Show” in which he drops a hail of unbleeped F-bombs!
You can watch director C.J. Wallis' entertaining film for free at TubiTV.com or with your Hulu subscription. After the movie, you can entertain yourself for hours by searching for “Price is Right” clips on YouTube; wasn't watching Bob the absolute best thing about being home sick from school?
Five-feet-nothin'
“Rudy,” David Anspaugh's inspiring, romanticized portrait of the undersized Joliet Catholic grad who wanted nothing more than to play football for Notre Dame, returns to the big screen for its 25th anniversary.
The 1993 classic stars Sean Astin as Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger atop a veritable all-American team of actors: Charles S. Dutton, Ned Beatty, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Lili Taylor and Jason Miller, to name a few. Rudy's real-life trek from the steel mill to Touchdown Jesus is a tear-jerker thanks to Astin's aw-shucks performance and Jerry Goldsmith's emotional score.
You can see “Rudy” on Tuesday, Aug. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 2, at theaters across the suburbs; for the complete list, visit fathomevents.com. Screenings include a Q&A with Ruettiger conducted by Chicago film critic Michael Phillips.
Last-minute addition
Director Ivan Reitman, whose filmography includes bona fide comedy classics “Ghostbusters” and “Stripes,” will join the roster of celebrity guests at this weekend's Wizard World Chicago pop culture convention at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont. Reitman will be available for autographs, photo ops and a Q&A with “Ghostbusters” star Ernie Hudson on Saturday, Aug. 25. General admission for Saturday is $55; a four-day pass runs $95.
• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. Follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.