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Dummy (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:10
Fresh:7
Rotten:3
Average Rating:5.8/10
Theatrical Release:Sep 12, 2003 Limited
Synopsis:
Family, friendship and romance find a voice in Dummy, the smartly offbeat and charming debut comedy from writer and director Greg Pritikin. Steven Schoichet (Adrien Brody, Academy Award® winner...
Family, friendship and romance find a voice in Dummy, the smartly offbeat and charming debut comedy from writer and director Greg Pritikin. Steven Schoichet (Adrien Brody, Academy Award® winner for The Pianist) is browbeaten at every turn, by his family, his dead-end job, the faceless suburb where he still lives at home. That is until he decides to make a change. Ventriloquism. Hey, a dream’s a dream.
His family barely pays him enough attention to even dismiss the idea – his mother (Jessica Walter, Slums of Beverly Hills) is only concerned that he eat something, and his father (Ron Liebman, Tony Award® winner for “Angels In America”) only thinks of his model ships. Steven’s sister (Illeana Douglas, Grace of My Heart) recently broke off her engagement to an unstable accountant (Jared Harris, Happiness), which makes her career as a wedding planner an emotional minefield. His only supporter is neighbor Fangora (Milla Jovovich, Resident Evil) – really it’s Fanny, but that’s not very punk – who has her own aspirations to stardom.
After Steven loses his job, things actually start to turn around. He falls for his counselor at the unemployment office (Vera Farmiga, Fifteen Minutes), and through the best efforts of Steven and the little friend on his knee, good things start to happen for everyone around him. A restraining order leads to new love, a rock band learns Yiddish, and everything clicks into place at somebody else’s wedding. Funny, winsome, quick-witted, and brave – this Dummy is pretty sharp. -- © Artisan Pictures
Starring: Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga
Starring: Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Walter, Ron Liebman, Jared Harris
Director: Gregory Pritikin
Director: Gregory Pritikin
Screenwriter: Gregory Pritikin
Producer: Bob Fagan, Richard Temtchine
Composer: Paul Wallfisch
Studio: Artisan Entertainment
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Reviews for Dummy
Definitely lives down to its name -- you can see the lips moving on this wooden thing.
[T]he best ventriloquist -stalker -family-drama -romantic -comedy I've seen in, well maybe forever.
Pritikin's shrewd comedy-drama catches a fine flock of family emotions on the wing, and not the over-exposed ones.
What could have been a biting dark comedy is, instead, uninspired and generic.
Brody is a real talent, and Illeana Douglas is a riot as his older sister.
A mildly engaging addition to that curious sub-genre of American independent filmmaking, the whimsical comedy of Long Island alienation.
Adrien Brody rescues Greg Pritikin's self-consciously eccentric comedy.
Pritikin ... serves up the sort of shrill 'satire' of middle-class Jewish vulgarity in which the mere mention of words like 'brisket' and 'klezmer' is automatically presumed to be hilarious.
It's no surprise that Brody, Douglas, Walter and Leibman make for one highly entertaining, if messed up, family unit, but the big revelation here is Jovovich.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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