Dummy

I was genuinely entertained by this movie. A funny quirky film about a man trying to find his identity through the use of a ventriloquist dummy. It was also refreshing to see Milla Jovovich in a semi comedic role.

There are some wonderful performances here, especially from Vera Farmiga, still a vulnerable and comic ingenue in 2003 and from Jessica Walter who is just off enough to deliver a performance that rivals the best offbeat movie moms (think "Mary Hartman Mary Hartman" good!). Dummy is a little uneven in places and you'll get more of the humor if you're Jewish or familiar with Jewish shtick. Overall it is charming, I was laughing out loud at some points. Charming!

Pure fun an epic

This is a simple movie with a pretty simple story made entertaining by some very talented actors. This is one of Adrian Brody's first films and he's great as always. Brody's character is not a cool guy and he's got a crazy family with an even crazier best friend played by Milla Jovovich. Brody does all of the ventriliquism himself and Jovovich does all of her own singing and both are impressive and funny! Jovovich is one of the few supermodels who is actually talented enough to carry herself as an actress (take note Angie Harmon)and she is always a joy to watch. The only downside of this film is the quality of the DVD. The picture is grainy and it's a little distracting. I've got much older movies of much better quality so this copy was disappointing. Otherwise, this is a fun little movie with some very talented people and it's worth having in one's collection.

I'm a recent convert to the worship of Adrien Brody, so I was predisposed to like this one. Wasn't prepared for how good it actually turned out to be, though. The music and the direction are excellent. The actors give it 100% across the board. You'll either really understand these people or they'll look like a bunch of weirdos. It's highly entertaining if you get them, kind of off-putting if you don't. The writing is subtle and lets you find your own way into the heads of the characters. The plot is pretty simple and straightforward, but the interactions between the characters are not. Sweet and honest. Good movie.

There is a lot to enjoy about this film but so much of it just does not work and quite frankly falls flat. This is overall a very awkward film and that actually works to its credit however I cannot get behind the relationship aspects. It's what kills a lot of the film for me. Adrian Brodie is nobody's favorite both in this film and in reality and his friendship with Fangora is on its face pretty weird (yet comical) her being a misfit garage rock singer with an attitude problem and poor hygiene while Adrian Brodie plays a socially awkward 28 year old man only given promise by his passion for Ventriloquism. He meets Lorena (a career counselor) and it turns into a forced relationship that would only result in possible jail time if perused in real life. I could not get passed that, however the character of Fangora may be enough to carry this film.

A couple of people have complained that the DVD doesn't function properly on wide-screen, HD TV's. I have been told by the good people of Artisan* (see note) that it is most likely a wrong setting on the TV's and not a flaw in the DVD. If you change the format/screen ratio on your HD TV it should solve that problem. After thousands of discs have been bought and viewed I have never heard a single complaint before about the disc. I have watched it myself and it worked fine so I have to assume it's the wide-screen TV's that are not set properly. Anyway, if this doesn't help, call Artisan and complain and get your money back. Good luck and thanks for buying the film... Greg. *(note): sarcasm

This film flopped, and given the great actors it is interesting to try to figure out what went wrong. Adrien Brody and Milla Jovovich have considerable talents. Greg Pritikin, the director/screenwriter has since blamed a change of ownership in the distribution channels for its commercial demise. I found it very grating in the first thirty minutes, then it grew on me briefly before descending into normal movie fantasyland. What was so grating? I think the director did not decide what he was doing, farce or lonely hearts finding each other or social satire, or the cliche version of standing up for oneself and then everything coming up roses. Milla is very good as the highly emotional extrovert social misfit and she is mirrored by an exact opposite of a totally clamped down emotional-less Adrien Brody as a introverted social misfit. However, both actors were pushed to extremes by the director, so the opening third seems unreal, and whatever affection you develop for the characters is balanced by a feeling of annoyance. Likewise you are given an insight into the family background of both characters as motivation for their inability to function well...but it is so extreme, and cartoon-like it would be better as farce, except it is definitely not all that funny. I think that is the main problem, pushing things in the direction of farce, and not making it all the way to funny, instead settling in a bog of sentimentality. Milla Jovovich (once she is freed from the demands to over-act) steals the movie, adjusting to the world, solving problems and finding her way to contribute.

I had seen this movie on TV and finding that it was not possible to rent it, I decided to purchase it from Amazon. The price was very reasonable and the shipping time unbelievable. I received it within a week. Adrien Brody proved to be a very accomplished actor in the movie "The Pianist" and I enjoyed him in a far different role in "Dummy". He is a likeable guy in this movie but very insecure and timid, but discovering he could be a ventriloquist made his life much more exciting and he made some new friends. He did all his own ventriloquism in the movie as well.

Ein feiner, ruhiger, aber überraschend witziger und vollends gelungener Film über den Mut, sich zu seinen Wünschen und Träumen zu bekennen, und den Versuch, diese schließlich auch umzusetzen. Die Protagonisten sind keine Überflieger, sondern ein schüchterner und gelangweilter Büroangestellter (Adrien Brody), eine erfolglose Punk-Rock-Sängerin (Milla Jovovich), eine alleinerziehende Mutter usw. Der Weg zum persönlichen Glück gestaltet sich für die Hauptpersonen nicht ohne Umwege und Rückschläge. Aber am Ende ist schon allein der Versuch, das Leben nach den eigenen Vorstellungen zu gestalten und die gewohnten Pfade zu verlassen, eine Bereicherung an sich. Dabei hält sich der Film an seine eigene Botschaft und weicht auch selbst sehr erfrischend und unterhaltsam vom Mainstream ab. Fazit: Kurzweil ohne Action, aber mit Humor und viel Atmosphäre. Originelle und glaubwürdige Charaktere. Brilliante Darsteller. Handlung, Musik - stimmt alles.

Great independent film

Sehr guter Film mit zum Teil sehr schrägen Humor und toller Besetzung. Selten einen besseren gesehen. Auf jeden Fall zu Empfehlen!

I loved that movie so much. It was just hilarious. Liked Adrien Brody in it very much, but Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler would have been a good choice, too for playing Steven.