Dummy
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Adrien Brody, Illeana Douglas, Jessica Walter, Milla Jovovich, Vera FarmigaBrand: Lions Gate
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Yiddish (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-17
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
Product features:
- DVD Details: Actors: Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Walter
- Directors: Greg Pritikin
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1; Number of discs: 1; Studio: Lions Gate
- DVD Release Date: February 17, 2004; Run Time: 91 minute
Movie Reviews of Dummy
Movie Review: Dummy is one smart movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Dummy is one of those movies you go in not expecting to like, but you wind up falling in love with. A quirky comedy with an offbeat sense of humor it'll have you laughing so hard your stomach will hurt. I'm so glad I didn't miss this intelligent clever comedy. It's one of the best movies I've seen in years.
Dummy follows the story of Steven, a shy late twenties man who lives with his dysfunctional parents and bitter sister. Fired from his dead-end job he decides to buy a ventriloquist's dummy and embark on his lifelong dream of becoming a ventriloquist. He goes down to the unemployment office and becomes attracted to his counselor Lorena on the first meeting. (I love how they're both wearing the same bland outfit; a wonderful comment on the stifling conformity of the workplace.) The dummy becomes an extension of Steven's personality and helps him overcome his shyness. With the help of his foul-mouthed tomboy friend Fangora he starts to pursue a romance with Lorena. Despite a series of blunders, (I love the scene where Fangora goes to the unemployment office. It's so funny it'll make you cry, ditto the crazy scene where he spray paints a thank-you note on her door) Steven manages to go on a few dates with Lorena. Just when things are about to get close, she breaks it off with Steven. He thinks it's his weirdness, but it's her own fears of failure in past relationships that cause the separation. At a Jewish wedding Fangora and Steven perform at, things reach a climax as he overcomes his shyness to win the woman he truly loves.
This is a great movie; like another one of my favorite movies, How U Like Me Now it uses a simple story as a platform to develop complex multileveled characters. Each character in Dummy struggles to overcome a fear inside themselves and it's ironic that these inner struggles contrast the exterior personality they express. Steven is shy on the outside, but his dummy's alter ego is extremely confident. Fangora is a foul mouthed extrovert but is extremely withdrawn when confronted by her mother about her Jewish heritage. Lorena is a woman who is the picture of stability and secure on the outside but is extremely insecure. Steven's sister Heidi is a wedding planner who can't maintain a relationship. Steven's mother always comforts everyone with food because she can't express her emotions in a constructive manner. Steven's father spends most of his time making model ships of past wars but is afraid to confront the turmoil in his own home. Each of the characters with the exception of Steven's parents find true happiness when they embrace the inner parts of their personalities they have conflict with and pursue their dreams Steven finds happiness in his ventriloquism, Fangora when she embraces her Jewish heritage by performing traditional Jewish songs, Heidi when she sings at the reception and Lorena when she stands up to a former boyfriend.
Director Greg Pritkin creates well-crafted film. He tells the stories of all these quirky offbeat characters beautifully. It's easy to identify with each of them and their struggles; being shy myself I could particularly relate to what Steven was going through in his life. Production values on Dummy are top notch. I especially love the cinematography; I felt like I was walking on those suburban streets. The screenplay is well written with some hilarious lines too good to spoil.
The acting in this film is some of the best I've ever seen. Adrien Brody is in top form as Steven capturing his shyness (he even does his own ventriloquism) beautifully. Mila Jovovich gives the best performance of her career as Fangora. She steals all the scenes she's in; I wish she'd do more films like this instead of fanticrap like Resident Evil and Fifth Element. A few more quality films like Dummy would elevate her into the A-list where she belongs. Jessica Walter and Ron Leibman are hilarious as Steven's parents. Vera Farmiga gives a strong performace as Lorena. She plays the counselor with great depth expressing her fear and insecurities. Illeana Douglas is brilliant as Heidi. You feel all her frustrations but understand where she's coming from. Jared Harris is extra creepy as Heidi's greasy accountant ex-boyfriend.
Dummy is a top ten Shawn James essential video. Pick this one up along with the Clockwatchers How U like Me Now, two other great independent films.
Summary of Dummy
DUMMY - DVD MovieOscar®-winner Adrien Brody has a nifty role in Dummy as a shy loser whose life is transformed by... ventriloquism. Living with his parents and his caustic sister (Illeana Douglas in good form), tongue-tied Steven can't hold a conversation to save his life--until he sits a wooden dummy on his knee. Others find this kind of creepy, but Steven parlays his newfound voice into a date with his pretty lady at the unemployment office (she's played by Vera Farmiga, from 15 Minutes, a soulful actress destined for big things). Writer-director Greg Pritikin doesn't oversell this modest premise, instead nicely filling in the corners with sly comedy and character bits. Milla Jovovich plays Steven's punk-rock buddy, and Jessica Walter and Ron Leibman are his parents--it's a surprisingly strong cast for an indie effort. Dummy won a release when Brody got the Oscar for The Pianist, but this is a worthy and entertaining picture all on its own. --Robert Horton
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