Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much is a 2017 American documentary film that profiles Ted Slauson, an elementary school mathematics teacher and super fan of The Price Is Right. Interviews with Slauson reveal how he became fascinated with the show in the early 1970s, which drove him to memorize the prices of products, and his involvement with contestant Terry Kniess, who bid perfectly on a showcase in 2008 and gave no credit to Slauson for his assistance.[1][2]
| Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | CJ Wallis |
| Produced by | CJ Wallis Mallory Kennedy |
| Cinematography | CJ Wallis |
| Edited by | CJ Wallis |
| Distributed by | Gravitas Ventures |
Release date |
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Running time | 72 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Synopsis
editTed Slauson spent his early life documenting and memorizing the prices of the prizes on The Price Is Right. When he turned 18, Slauson started traveling to the show to become a contestant. Even when he was not picked from the audience to be a contestant, Slauson yelled out prices—which is allowed—helping contestants win cash and prizes on the show.
Over many years, Slauson called out prices to contestants, allowing them to submit the exact price – or "perfect bid" – on various items, and helped a contestant make a "perfect bid" on the final showcase, helping them win both showcases (a feature of the game), totaling tens of thousands of dollars. Prior to that, he had helped two other contestants bid within a small margin of error on the final showcase, which also allowed them to win both showcases, per a feature of the game.
After helping a third contestant, Terry Kniess, with the "perfect bid" to win the double showcase of prizes, the show's producers finally started increasing and changing the diversity of items used on the show, including changing the options packages that impact the prices on automobiles, which are the highest priced single items available for the contestants to price,[2] making it less likely that a contestant can remember the prices by simply watching the show over a long period.
Despite Kniess maintaining that he had come up with the perfect bid on his own, Slauson reveals the truth behind the story that has been misrepresented for years. Ted Slauson is the most known contestant in the history of the show for such accuracy.
Cast
edit- Theodore (Ted) Slauson
- Bob Barker
- Roger Dobkowitz
While Slauson, Barker and Dobkowitz were expressly interviewed for the film, there is also archive footage of Drew Carey discussing the incident with Kevin Pollak, from an episode of Kevin Pollak's Chat Show.[3]
Critical reception
editThe film has received positive reviews.[4][5][6] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes currently has the film listed "fresh", holding a 100% score based on 6 critical reviews.[7]
Awards
editPerfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much won best documentary at the Orlando Film Festival in 2017.[8]
References
edit- ^ Raelyn Giansanti (September 27, 2017). "'Perfect Bid' Trailer: How A Math Teacher From Texas Outsmarted 'The Price Is Right' — Watch". IndieWire. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ a b Marini, Richard A. (June 8, 2018). "How one San Antonio man's obsession with 'The Price is Right' almost destroyed the show". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
- ^ KPCS: Drew Carey #140 (1h28m20s). March 12, 2012.
- ^ Simon Foster (December 10, 2017). "Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much". Screen-Space. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ Bradley Gibson (February 20, 2018). "Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much". Film Threat. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ Josh Sorokach (October 2, 2018). "'Perfect Bid' Tells The Story of The Man Who Outsmarted 'The Price Is Right'". Decider. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ "Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ "2017 Awards and Nominees". Orlando Film Festival. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
Bibliography
edit- Wallis, CJ (writer, director, producer), Kennedy, Mallory (producer), interviewees: Slauson, Theodore; Barker, Bob; Dobkowitz, Roger (December 15, 2015). Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much (YouTube). Vancouver, Los Angeles.