Dummy (2002)

An ex-office worker becomes a ventriloquist, leading to a date with his unemployment counselor; but his quirky family and a gauche female friend may thwart his new career and love life.

Director:

Greg Pritikin

Writer:

Greg Pritikin

Stars:

Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adrien Brody	...	Steven
Milla Jovovich	...	Fangora
Illeana Douglas	...	Heidi
Vera Farmiga	...	Lorena
Jessica Walter	...	Fern
Ron Leibman	...	Lou
Jared Harris	...	Michael
Mirabella Pisani	...	Bonnie
Helen Hanft	...	Mrs. Gurkel
Richmond Hoxie	...	Sorensen
Adam LeFevre	...	Theater Director
Joanne Bayes	...	Actress
Lou Martini Jr.	...	Unemployed Italian (as Lou Marini Jr.)
Gabor Morea	...	Unemployed Frottager (as Gabor Mobea)
Edward Hibbert	...	Unemployed Actor

Storyline

Steven, nearly 30 and living with his parents, sees an old Edgar Bergen movie on TV and decides to fulfill his longtime dream of becoming a ventriloquist. His beautiful unemployment counselor Lorena finds him work, but puts out a restraining order on him when he paints a thank-you note on her door. Later, this young mother agrees to date him anyway, but finds his bickering family, and his inexperience with women, daunting to a relationship. Steven's sister Heidi is a wedding planner with a drunken ex-fiancé who keeps showing up at the door. His friend Fangora is a pseudo-punk rocker whose sex does not prevent her from giving him terrible advice about women. The wedding of a Jewish girl, who wants Klezmer music and gets something unexpected, will become a turning point in everyone's lives.

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | friend | unemployment | wedding planner | restraining order | 

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Taglines:

Some people can say a lot without moving their lips.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate Entertainment

Country:

USA

Language:

English Yiddish

Release Date:

21 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brzuchomówca

Filming Locations:

Commack, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$30,120 (USA) (12 September 2003)

Gross:

$71,305 (USA) (3 October 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dummy Productions LLC, Quadrant Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jessica Walter and Ron Leibman, who play Adrien Brody's character's parents, are married in real life.

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Goofs

When Steven is driving around, the car is clearly in park.

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Quotes

[Family dinner, with Lorena and daughter as guests]
Heidi: [to her mother, Fern] What're you, apologizing to her? She's an unwed mother.
Fern: Better an unwed mother than just plain unwed.

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Crazy Credits

All puppetry and ventriloquism performed live by Adrien Brody.

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Connections

References Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

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Soundtracks

"She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung a cappella by Adrien Brody through his dummy

User Reviews

Unexpectedly life-affirming...

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 ****