Dummy

Adrien Brody is quietly wonderful as an unemployed nebbish in his late twenties who stills lives with his parents and has a fascination with ventriloquism; he finally buys a dummy of his own and practices the craft he's dreamed about, yet also realizes (via his new wooden companion) that it may be time to start growing up. Greg Pritikin wrote and directed this low-budget satire of suburban craziness, and seems to harbor an affection for bughouse characters all living on the edge. It isn't an original vision (Hal Hartley was mining this dryly eccentric territory 10 years ago), but it's still surprising how successfully Pritikin manages to pull this intentionally bumpy story together. Milla Jovovich is initially off-putting playing Brody's friend, a foul-mouthed garage rocker, but when she gets her band a job playing klesmer songs at a wedding--and immerses herself in the Jewish language--she reveals an appealing, sassy side that totally fits into Pritikin's offbeat universe. Illeana Douglas and Vera Farmiga are also very fine, and though the construction of the script is caricature-oriented, most of these actors overcome the slight material, revealing something unexpected in the process: a sunny story about weirdos that ultimately celebrates humanity. **1/2 from ****

I had a premonition I was about to see a comedy with a lot of heart even before the main titles played out at a screening of "Dummy" at the American Film Market 2000 recently.

In the opening scene, Steven, who lives with his eccentric parents and sister, sits enthralled watching the flickering tv image of ventriloquist Edgar Bergan and his dummy, Charlie McCarthy. As the camera moves in on the young man, we see in his eyes the depth of his dreams and aspirations to at last make something of his humdrum life. The next day, he gives up his 9-to-5 job and announces to his dysfunctional family that he wants to be a ventriloquist. His ever-busy mother(Jessica Walter), making yet another tuna sandwich, remarks that his career choice is" nice but not very realistic" while his sister observes that with the dummy on his lap, Steven looks like a child molester.

Casting is right on the mark. Adrien Brody brings a sympathetic and likable quality to the role of Steven as he manipulates his dummy to express his own private fears and feelings to the people around him. Vera Farmiga, the love interest, is extremely engaging as his employment counselor and Illeana Douglas, the very unmarried sister, is constantly funny. Outstanding too is Milla Javovich as Steven's best friend, a punk rocker with layers of attitude. Writer and director Greg Pritikin skillfully holds down the pathos and gives his film just the right touch of humor. An entertaining movie that is worth a look.

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 (2002)

A fun, offbeat, somewhat frivolous charcoal gray comedy. It's hilarious in spots and touching in spots, and has some terrific acting. The overall scenario is a situation comedy, drawn out over the hour and a half, and it might have made a tighter hour long television show. At times it seems to really hit an eccentric tone that's terrific and even a little surreal, as with some of the family interactions, played with beautiful deadpan steadiness. And when it's a moving romantic comedy, you appreciate the restrained, sympathetic acting of several of the leads. There isn't a bad performance in the lot of them.