Customer Reviews

Dummy

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Dummy is a charming little movie about a quiet loser played by Adrien Brody who dreams of being a ventriloquist.

The story revolves around Steven's (Brody) life, his relationships, his family, his future and his hilarious friend FANGORA (Milla Jovovich).

The movie is off the beaten path, unique, subtle, quiet and a throw back to those simple little movies from the 80s that weren't about a whole lot, but were just enjoyable. And I assure you, after watching DUMMY, you WILL NOT forget it.

You will talk about it with your friends and YOU WILL LAUGH!!

The movie is gifted with memorable and rich characters. Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Walter & Ron Leibman are a big part of this, but the most memorable, hilarious and unforgettable role belongs to MILLA JOVOVICH.

Milla plays an ill-tempered punk rock chick with a heart of gold and a mouth like a sailor. Milla had me in stitches and I believe that a lot of her acting was improvised. She was into this character and EARNS SOME SERIOUS BROWNIE POINTS for future more meatier roles. She steals the show.

What was already a pretty good movie anyway, was made an exceptional movie by a HOMERUN performance by an actress that is getting better, better and better. This girl has MONGO GUTS, and it shows.

Check out DUMMY. If you like to laugh. You won't go wrong.

I normally reserve 5 stars for classics, but this barely recognized little movie deserves 5 stars, for what it is, what it accomplished and for making me laugh where hundreds of more commercial comedies failed miserably.

Is there anything in this world creepier than a ventriloquist's dummy? Rod Serling apparently didn't think so when he turned one into a raving psychopath in a memorable episode of "The Twilight Zone." In "Dummy," the delightfully quirky comedy by writer/director Greg Pritikin, the dummy turns out to be just about the least creepy character in the film - and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Adrien Brody, in a film made prior to (but released after) his Oscar-winning triumph in "The Pianist," stars as Steven Schoichet, a mild-mannered, socially backward man in his late 20's who still lives at home with his parents and his equally dysfunctional sister. One day, Steven decides to purchase a ventriloquist's dummy, a move that finally gives him the courage to break out of his shell and pursue the woman of his dreams.

Pritikin has come up with an extraordinary ensemble cast that includes, in addition to Brody, Illeana Douglas, as Steven's lovelorn, perpetually frustrated sister; Milla Jovovich, as Steven's foulmouthed wannabe punk rock star friend and companion; Jessica Walter as Steven's off-the-wall mother who figures she can keep her son happy if she perpetually feeds him sandwiches; and Ron Leibman as Steven's father who just wants to spend his time putting together model ships and who can't understand how he's ended up with two children so obviously devoid of purpose and direction in life. Vera Farmiga is charming and winning as the unemployment counselor - perhaps the one "uncertifiable" character in the film - who opens her heart to both Steven and his dummy companion.

Pritikin has taken some very simple material and woven it into a many-splendored tapestry, hitting just the right tone all the way through. The film is wickedly funny one moment and touchingly romantic the next. Yet, Pritikin never violates the uniquely quirky spirit of the premise he's established. It is particularly fun watching Steven engage in long-running conversations with himself, using the dummy as a sounding board for working out his own insecurities and fears.

Beautifully written, directed and acted, "Dummy" is one of the genuine, certified sleepers of the past several years.

If you're buying this in hopes of enjoying widescreen on your HDTV...don't. Someone messed up and it is presented in full screen with the case labeled incorrectly. I think they even forgot the pan and scan. I hope they correct this and re-release it as it is a good comedy and sure deserves better.

The interactions between the characters in this film are what make it so great. I especially loved Milla's character, a punk-rock chick who convinces Adrian's character to do many crazy things. Also, Milla's character sings towards the end of the movie and she does a rockin job at that.

Overall, the plot was nothing special, but the weird cast of characters made it more interesting then it would have been otherwise. In this sense, you can watch this movie over a couple of times since its not really about what happens but how it happens and how oddly the people act.

All of the actors did a terrific job, but most of all Adrian and Milla were excellent.

I doubt you'll be seeing this dvd in the video store, and unless you were one of the few people who saw this film during its limited release, I suggest you pick up a copy.

I found "Dummy" a really enjoyable film. Seeing Oscar winner Adrien Brody doing something different was refreshing. Other excellent performances from Illeana Douglas (always good), Milla Jonovich as the wacky singer and I laughed out loud with the comedy bits between the bride, Poppi Kramer & groom, Lawrence Leritz, who falls asleep at the wedding reception. Good low budget indie.

"Dummy" is one of the weirdest, most heartwarming indie films that most moviegoers have never seen. Unless they are rabid Adrian Brody fans.

That's unfortunate, because this wild, slightly surreal film is enormous fun. It starts off with a quirky family, like a suburban Wes Anderson story, but slowly becomes something more heartwarming as the hero learns to follow his bliss. It's weird enough to be cool, but sweet enough to give you the warm fuzzies.

Steven Schoichet (Adrian Brody) is a suburban Dilbert. His job is a dead end, and he's still living with his battleship-building dad, his sweetly oblivious mom and his embittered sister Heidi (Illeana Douglas). On impulse, he decides to buy a ventriloquist's dummy and learns how to use it. This, he decides, is his new job.

Making things more complex is the fact that he is falling in love with his unemployment counsellor (Vera Farmiga). Punk-rocker Fangora (Milla Jovovich) decides to help Steven win her over, despite his weird family. But her advice only causes more problems, and soon Steven has to learn that the real him is the most attractive. Will the dummy help Steven find love, or will he lapse back into his dreary, passionless life?

It's definitely a variation on a typical movie plot: Boy meets dummy. Dummy helps boy meet girl. Boy loses girl. Dummy helps boy pluck up the courage to get girl back. Yup, this is not your typical movie, since the hero's sidekick is a wooden doll.

But while that's the surface of it, the real plot of "Dummy" is about following your bliss, whether it's your soulmate, a wooden dummy, a career or your art. In other words, cast off your "realistic" life if it doesn't make you happy, and just follow what you secretly long to do. You'll be happier for it.

Yeah, it sounds mushy. But it's wrapped up in a plot so offbeat you won't notice, especially since there is a subplot about Fanny's punk band having to learn Yiddish klezmer music. Writer/director Greg Pritikin directs like a more relaxed Wes Anderson, with odd camerawork and deadpan humor ("You look like a child molester!" Heidi says about the dummy).

All the actors in this are good, no matter how minor their roles. Adrian Brody does a wonderful job as a Steven, whose real personality only shines through when he has his dummy to speak for him. He's sweet, sensitive and downtrodden. And Jovovich steals each scene as the foul-mouthed, fatigue-clad, shoplifting, exuberant and wild Fanny, who lives for her punk music.

Romantics and black comedy fans will enjoy "Dummy," with its weird characters and oddball humor. Follow your bliss.

I really have to give kudos to my husband on this one. This is a movie that, on the surface, would've never made my "must see" list. Fortunately, my husband buys movies compulsively. We have a stockpile of films yet to be seen, and he keeps buying more. So, it's Friday night, the family is in the living room with pizza, and he puts Gothika into the player. After the opening credits, the movie begins with a string of F-words and graphic dialogue, and that's when he decides it probably isn't a family-friendly film. So, he walks into the room and puts in Dummy. The kids and I couldn't help assuming the dummy was going to turn into a mass-murderer, knowing my husband's penchant for B-horror flicks. Instead, we saw a heartwarming and sensitive but quirky film. It completely engrossed me, and my boys, ages 13 and 10. The 10 year old is quite a quirky character himself. I'm sure this touched him on a completely different level.

This film is funny, in an I-can't-believe-I'm-laughing-about-this-it-should-be-painful kind of way, yet poignant. While not as dark as, say, "Secretary", it is still dark enough. The whole thrust of the story is that we all have a place and a dream and we're not really complete until we give our dream some credence.

The acting was terrific, across the board. Each character is lovable and there is no magic cure-all moment where everything wraps up neat and tidy. Even the side characters are multi-faceted. At the end of the story, characters have grown but they also retain their personalities. It is a charming, well-played story, and I highly recommend it. If you could appreciate the charm of "Napoleon Dynamite", then you will "get" this movie.

My only complaint is about the DVD itself. It is full-screen, so you miss the edges. Literally. For example, the opening credits list "rien Brody" and "Milla Jovo" as the actors in this film. There is also an integral scene at the family dinner table where the dialogue/action is at the edges of the screen, so you miss out on the important facial expressions. It is frustrating in this day and age to see a movie released with such skimpiness. The quality of this film deserves a better quality DVD release.

Dummy takes a simple premise - a man pushing 30 still living with his parents and unable to assert himself professionally, romantically or socially. After being fired he decides to go for his dream - to become a ventriloquist. The most amazing side effect of working with a dummy is Steven develops an edge to his otherwise bland character and life takes on a whole new direction.

Egged on by his best friend the punk, Fangora, a foul-mouthed, strident loser in her own right played with zero charm by Milla Jovovich, Steven takes risks that sound like bad ideas to him - and prove to be just that.

Steven's not the only loser at home, his older sister - a hilariously deadpan Ileana Douglas - gave up her own dream of becoming a singer. It's easy to see where the this pair of siblings lack of self esteem comes from once we meet Mom and Dad. The entire family could easily fall into the realm of stereotype or caricature, but Jessica Walter and Ron Liebman make this material fresh and hilarious. When Steven invites his potential paramour, a single mother, to a family dinner, the results are, predictably, outrageously funny.

There is a love story woven into Dummy, but ultimately it's Steven's journey of self-awareness and acceptance that is the heart of this story and that impresses the most. A fun, fun ride.

DUMMY, one of Adrien Brody's two shelved indies that finally made it to theaters after he won his PIANIST Oscar, is much more likable and watchable than the other one, LOVE THE HARD WAY (about which I've groused at length elsewhere on Amazon.com). TV GUIDE ONLINE critic Maitland McDonagh described this quirky young-adults-coming-of-age comedy as "repetitive and obvious but somehow endearing, like a truly ugly dog with sweet eyes," and I pretty much agree with her assessment. This Long Island-based story of a pair of twentysomething siblings still living at home with their annoying, critical parents (real-life spouses Jessica Walter and Ron Leibman are so convincing as Mom and Dad, it's scary!) while trying to find their respective paths to independence could have been shrill and tiresome, and at times it teeters dangerously close to being so. Luckily, the superb leads bring a gentle, non-cloying sweetness and poignancy to their performances that makes you keep watching and rooting for them. That's saying quite a bit when you consider that the road to full-tilt adulthood for brother Steven (Brody) involves honing his ventriloquism skills (Brody learned ventriloquism for his role, and he does a good job! I wonder if Brody drops such acquired-for-a-role skills once the movie wraps, or if he keeps them honed just for fun?) with a rather unnerving, unnamed dummy (not to keep digressing, but with such rare exceptions as Charlie McCarthy, aren't most ventriloquist's dummies rather unnerving? :-) as he woos Lorena, his employment counselor (enchantingly played by Vera Farmiga), who's got issues of her own. High-strung sister Heidi (Illeana Douglas) has given up her dream of becoming a singer to forge a career as a wedding planner. She's got her work cut out for her, what with an inept stalker ex-fiance (Jared Harris) dogging her every move, her first major professional assignment turning out to be a Jewish wedding where the bride insists on klezmer music, and not owning her own car; the scenes where Heidi has to beg their mom for the car are both funny and painful. Adding to all this anxiety-laced wackiness is Steven's high school pal Fangora, née Fanny (Milla Jovovich), an aspiring punk rocker and all-around nutty chick who claims she can play klezmer music so she'll get the wedding gig, as well as giving Steven well-meant but questionable advice on how to win Lorena's heart, such as spray-painting a message on Lorena's front door. Fortunately, in writer/director Greg Pritikin's world, even restraining orders and omnipresent ventriloquist's dummies can't block the path to love and happiness for long, and everyone gets what they deserve. Brody and Douglas are particularly well-cast; with their attractively angular faces, almond-shaped green eyes, and overall air of angst, they make very convincing siblings. Jovovich is hilarious, especially in the running gag where she and her punk band practice their klezmer numbers. Between DUMMY and ZOOLANDER, it's clear that Jovovich has a flair for comedy. I hope she gets more chances to keep her funny side up! You budding Edgar Bergens and Jay Johnsons may be interested in the ventriloquist lessons included amongst the DVD's extras.

Like American Splendor and Ghost World, this is one of those films that I can really relate to. Adrien Brody is wonderful in his portrayal of the Jewish loner who still lives with his parents and the only way he can easily communicate to the world is through his ventriloquist dummy. Artisan did a wonderful job in their casting. Ron Liebman and Jessica Walter are the perfect real couple to play the parents of Adrien and his sister played to perfection by Illeana Douglas. Vera Farmiga plays Brody's love interest in such a way that you get the sense that she too has led a somewhat disoriented life. Milla Jovovich, wow. This is the first role I've seen her in where she actually speaks a lot and gets to sing. She is remarkable as Brody's best friend Fanny...I'm sorry Fangora! I had my mother watch this film with me and being Jewish, she loved it when Milla sang punk versions of Klezmer songs!

The DVD is packed with wonderful features such as lessons on how to be a good ventriloquist with the help of Jeff Dunham, a cute mock featurette that shows Jeff teaching a class on Ventriloquism, commentary from Jeff and two of his own dummies, a Widescreen presentation of the film, and deleted scenes. There's even a mini DVD game called "What Kind Of Dummy Are You?".

Powered by a lovely acoustic soundtrack and good direction from Greg Pritkin, Dummy is a lovely tale of dreams and ambitions and comedic drama that can tap into the artist in all of us.

Be sure to listen for Fangora's references to Borders!