Dummy

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 groused at length elsewhere in the IMDb). 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 (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) is trying to forge a career as a wedding planner, but 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!

This movie is terrific. It's very funny and very powerful. Everything that happens is a necessary plot point to tell the story. Nothing is extraneous. Each character is uniquely entertaining and real, they each remind us of someone we know. We root for Stephen, we dislike Heidi, and we can't help but love Fanny. The characters are developed wonderfully. The performances are all terrific. I've never seen any of Adrien Brody's work before, but if it's all as great as this then he's destined for super stardom. Illeana Douglas is hilarious and perfect as usual. I was most blown away by Milla Jovovich. She's amazingly fun to watch on screen and her New Jersey accent is dead-on. Great dialog and flawless directing. Simply put it's a wonderful film with a unique theme, which is unique in itself.

"Dummy" is an impressive movie for many reasons, but let's start with the show stealer... Milla Jovovich. Her character is something like a female Beavis & Butthead rolled into one but with great character development and evolution which pays off with her riveting singing performance at the story's climax. Her scenes alone (which some appreciative youtubers have strung together for our enjoyment) are worth the price of admission.

Not to be overshadowed is Adrian Brody who plays a nerdy ventriloquist (whose only friend is Milla). And in case you're wondering, yes, he operated the puppet and did all the ventriloquism himself according to the credits at the end.

The story: a nerdy ventriloquist wannabe (Brody), who is living at home at age 30-something because he can't keep a real job, pairs up with his high school pal (Jovovich) to chase his dreams and simultaneously win the love of a girl he's stalking. The humor is that the two of them, Brody & Jovovich, play characters who are so socially stunted that they'd be lucky if they could ride a bus downtown, let alone achieve their dreams of glory. By the way, Milla's dream is to be a punk rocker, but she keeps getting waylaid by the fact that her guitarist can never seem to get the right "reeear-weew-breeer-woow" (that's a quote). Until they switch to a bizarre new music genre which I won't spoil, you just gotta check it out and you WON'T be disappointed.

There's a simultaneous subplot involving our hero's sister (played by the hilarious Illeana Douglas) who is a failed-singer-turned-wedding-planner also living at home at age 30-something whist being stalked by an alcoholic accountant who does community theater in his spare time.

Perhaps you've figured it out from my description; this is a film about people who have failed in various degrees to achieve their dreams, and now solidly rooted in mediocrity, they make their way through life on the line of sanity. And frequently tripping over said line.

"Dummy" is a true gem of quirky excellence. The comedic timing between Brody's subdued character and Jovovich's hyper manic character is impeccable. Not to mention other supporting characters like the mother, father and of course Brody's love interest who each play memorable roles that contribute greatly to the humor. "Dummy" is an all round solid comedy that deserves a respectable cult following. Definitely not a wooden performance. Har har.

Let's face it: even Woody Allen has gotten stale setting up laughs using the stereotypical Jewish dysfunctional family (is there an oxymoron in that description?). It's been done so many times. The welcome surprise is that director and writer Greg Pritikin takes this old kreplach (in place of chestnut) and makes it work with a novel theme brought to life by a terrific cast.

Adrien Brody made this movie before his Oscar-winning portrayal of a gifted Jewish musician in "The Pianist." Here he is a young man, Steve, whose lifelong ambition (he's bordering on thirty) is to become a ventriloquist. He buys a dummy and takes lessons (Brody, who passed fairly well as a concert pianist in his better known film, actually did all the dummy tricks and ventriloquism here).

Steve lives at home with his mom (Jessica Walter) who is forever shoving food at everyone. His dad (Ron Leibman) is retired and he pursues a common hobby of men no longer gainfully employed: making scale model warships while watching hard core porn. Sister Heidi (Ileana Douglas) dreamed of becoming a singer. Her ambition crushed, largely by her scatterbrain mother, she is now a wedding planner, her first big job creating agita in the first degree. She's pursued by a clearly insane former fiance to her distress.

Steve's closest friend from high school days is rock singer Fangera (Milla Jovovich) who has a cum laude Master's in Public Crudity. Their relationship is platonic and Fangera is very albeit crazily devoted to her longtime buddy. Desperate for work for herself and her band, she passes herself off to Heidi as a klezmer specialist, exactly what the despairing wedding planner needs for her first big event. Of course she knows nothing about klezmer music and her immersion in studying that genre is a riot by itself. So is the payoff at the wedding.

Steve, fired from his job, meets employment counselor Lorena (Vera Farmiga) and sparks of all kind begin to fly. Lorena is a single mother with an adorable little girl and she's both attracted to Steve and shy about a commitment. Their relationship, which begins with a weird approach concocted by the barely sane Fangera, rolls back and forth and is kind of touching.

No need to say more about the plot. This fast-paced romantic comedy works with all the principal cast members playing off each other in an often funny and occasionally serious and meaningful way. Surprises are few but when has a ventriloquist's dummy been central to story development in any recent film?

The special features on the DVD are fun. Included is an interactive test in which the viewer answers a series of questions and then finds out what kind of dummy he or she is. I was ranked a ...hey, that's my personal business.

There's also a storyboard history of ventriloquism which points out that this entertainment form allowed, decades ago, a performer to "say" things through his dummy that would have been unacceptable directly from his mouth (including negative comments about politicians).

As usual, reading the credits closely paid off. The technical adviser was Paul Winchell and the assistant technical adviser...Jerry Mahoney. I think you have to be from my generation to appreciate that.

8/10

I really liked the quirky humour and though Adrien Brody's acting was astonishing, the ensemble playing and the interplay of dummy and people was what made the film work for me. I am an ignorant English Quaker and I had a simple question for the director or Adrien or any other American viewers. Is Adrien's character meant to represent a specifically Jewish character, or is the film, as I suspect, more universal in its design?

I teach 11-16 year olds and have written books on mainstreaming children with special needs. I may have read the movie all wrong, but to me the humour brought alive all the hassle that children with Asperger's Syndrome have, trying to communicate their ideas and feelings to an uncomprehending world. My old school has one of the best records in UK for bringing children on the autistic spectrum out of special schools into ordinary classrooms and get great results for them. It takes real love for the staff to help the other children treat them with the kind of respect they need to show their proper talents. The anguish in Adrien's eyes was met with perfect friendship and love in his sister and girl friends and I thought that it was this that helped him reveal his true talents.

I have never filled in a comments box like this before and I only do so because Dummy is one of my all time favourite movies

Respect