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Dummy

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Dummy (2003)

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72 %
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Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:23

Rotten:9

Average Rating:6.2/10

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Television

US Box Office: $0

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 [More]

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

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
06/25/09
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/26/08
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
03/13/06
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Pritikin may be asking his audience to pay attention and embrace small successes, but with Dummy, he has pulled off a great one.

Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | comment Comment
12/09/04
Jordan Hiller
Jordan Hiller
Bangitout.com

Pritikin's movie succeeds...thanks to its spirited, oddball humor and winning performances

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Alternative | comment Comment
09/30/04
Jay Antani
Jay Antani
Los Angeles Alternative

Like its mini-mouthpiece, as pleasantly entertaining as Dummy often is, this ultimately hollow film sounds a few too many wooden notes and creaky jokes.

Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
01/29/04
Brian Gibson
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
10/01/03
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY

The characters are all strangely endearing, and the real pleasure of the movie is just watching them interact.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
09/26/03
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Definitely lives down to its name -- you can see the lips moving on this wooden thing.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
09/26/03
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

Surprisingly endearing in moments thanks to finely tuned comic performances, especially from Brody.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
09/15/03
Justin Hartung
Justin Hartung
Citysearch

[T]he best ventriloquist -stalker -family-drama -romantic -comedy I've seen in, well maybe forever.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
09/15/03
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Dummy might have been a better movie if Greg Pritikin had done a few more rewrites on his script, and if he'd had more than a few weeks in which to shoot it.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
09/13/03
Shirley Sealy
Shirley Sealy
Film Journal International

It's a sweetly sad and sadly funny tale, conceived with quirky sensitivity, but, though its actors are adept, it only just hangs together, like a sitcom still in rehearsal stages.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
09/12/03
Bridget Byrne
Bridget Byrne
Boxoffice Magazine

It's repetitive and obvious but somehow endearing, like a truly ugly dog with sweet eyes.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/12/03
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Pritikin's shrewd comedy-drama catches a fine flock of family emotions on the wing, and not the over-exposed ones.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
09/12/03
Bob Campbell
Bob Campbell
Newark Star-Ledger

What could have been a biting dark comedy is, instead, uninspired and generic.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
09/12/03
V.A. Musetto
V.A. Musetto
New York Post

Brody is a real talent, and Illeana Douglas is a riot as his older sister.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
09/12/03
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

The result is the kind of oddball independent film that's almost a parody of the genre.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
09/11/03
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A mildly engaging addition to that curious sub-genre of American independent filmmaking, the whimsical comedy of Long Island alienation.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
09/11/03
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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