Dumbstruck (2010)

Director:

Mark Goffman

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Say hello to my little friends.

Plot:

At the annual Vent Haven Convention in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, ventriloquism capital of the world, director...

Plot Keywords:

Ventriloquism | Heart

Cast

Bob Ashman	...	Himself
Maria Ashman	...	Herself
Robert J. Ashman	...	Himself
Willie Brown	...	Himself
Barry Burdette	...	Himself
Dylan Burdette	...	Himself
Jennifer Burdette	...	Herself
Aileen Carroll	...	Herself
Roger Carroll	...	Himself
Ed Casey	...	Himself
Meghan Casey	...	Herself (as Megan Casey)
Michelle Casey	...	Herself
Mark Anthony Ciarlante	...	Himself
Gary Cohen	...	Himself
Marlene Cohen	...	Herself
Sergio Croom	...	Himself
Melinda Fator	...	Herself
Terry Fator	...	Himself
Levestia Graham	...	Herself
Marty Hamill	...	Himself
Dan Horn	...	Himself
Terry L. Johns	...	Himself
Tom Ladshaw	...	Himself
John McEntee	...	Himself
Jimmy Nelson	...	Himself
Charlie Risner	...	Himself
Jane Risner	...	Herself
Annie Roberts	...	Herself
Michael R. Ruk	...	Himself
Bob Rumba	...	Himself
Tim Selberg	...	Himself
Scott Sibella	...	Himself
Rob Swartz	...	Himself
Wilma Swartz	...	Herself
Lisa Sweasy	...	Herself
Mark Wade	...	Himself
Kim Yeager	...	Herself
Adam DeFilippi	...	Himself (uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Goffman

Produced by
Daniel Brunt	....	consulting producer
Gary Cohen	....	associate producer
Lindsay Goffman	....	producer
Hal Long	....	associate producer
Elon Musk	....	executive producer
George Reasner	....	co-producer
David O. Sacks	....	consulting producer

Original Music by
Daniel Licht

Cinematography by
George Reasner

Film Editing by
Douglas Blush
Alyssa Clark
Tina Imahara
Jeff Orgill
Sven Pape

Sound Department
Mitchell Hill	....	sound
Adam Parrish King	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Scott Connolly	....	additional cinematographer
Scott Connolly	....	camera operator
Robert M. Edgecomb	....	"b" camera operator
Robert M. Edgecomb	....	second assistant camera
Paul Mayne	....	camera operator
Ian Spohr	....	additional cinematographer
Ian Spohr	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Adi Cabigting	....	assistant editor
Alex Calleros	....	assistant editor
Farah Khalid	....	additional editing
Dustin Slaughter	....	assistant editor
Ian Spohr	....	assistant editor
Michael Weinreich	....	assistant editor
Miranda Yousef	....	additional editor

Music Department
Will Holliday	....	music editor
William Levine	....	composer: additional music
Jonathan Licht	....	composer: additional music
Gerard Talbot	....	music licensing

Distributors

• Truly Indie (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Pictures
• Truly Indie (2011) (USA) (DVD)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief suggestive humor

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #46683)

Soundtrack:

Special Friend

5 Ventriloquists show you just how hard ventriloquism can be

When I saw that Terry Fator was in this, I assumed it was a documentary on him, how he got started and how he found his claim to fame with America's Got Talent. But, it's even better than that. Yes, Terry is in it, but it's also got 4 other stories (some funny, some heart-breaking) of ventriloquists and wanna-be ventriloquists. I'm not a huge follower of ventriloquists, but with folks like Terry Fator and Jeff Dunham out there, it's getting to be popular again, so I decided to watch Dumbstruck.

The documentary starts out at the Vent Haven ConVENTion (aren't they clever?), held in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. This year marks their 31st year. We get to see a little bit of the convention, what goes on there and some of the people you get to meet. But, enough about that for now -- the documentary chooses to follow five different performers and tells us a little bit about them and what get them started and whatnot. First, we have Kim Yeager. She's an Ohio beauty queen who mainly does safety talks with her puppets to school children. She's not married, has 2 dogs and her family wants her to cool it with the puppet business and settle down. Then there's Dylan, an 11-year-old kid who practices very hard and sequesters himself down in the basement to work on his routine and watch himself in the mirror to make sure his lips don't move. His family supports him, but I kind of got the feeling that his Dad would like to see him do something else...anything else. Next is Dan. Dan takes his puppets on cruises all over the World, he's a cruise-line ventriloquist. Noted as one of the best manipulators in the business (how he moves the puppet, nice, fluid, smooth movements, almost as if they were alive), he teaches classes and gives advice whenever and where ever he can. Up next is Wilma, who has had a rough go at ventriloquism. Her family has basically abandoned her because they don't approve, but all she wants to do is make people laugh. And, of course, there's Terry Fator -- famous for winning America's Got Talent and signing a $100 million dollar deal in Las Vegas. He's the "one in a million" and inspiration to puppeteers worldwide.

The documentary is often funny and at times, can be a bit sad. It's interesting enough to keep your mind on it the entire time and when you're nearing the end, you will be fully vested into the real-life characters and want to know what became of them (be sure to stick around for the credits, because that's when they fill you in on their progress). The only one that really caught me off-guard was Wilma's story. It seemed to be a bit out of place and it's really a downer when you start to think about it and her life. To have a family reject you because you practice ventriloquism is just absurd. I'm pleased with the outcome of her story, however. But, I still do find her a bit on the odd side (not that it's a bad thing). When Dan talks about having to leave and perform on the cruise ships, he tells us that sometimes he's gone for a good two months at a time. That can be rough on a family. Not seeing your wife or children for long periods of time. When Kim is interested in getting a cruise line job, Dan tells her just how difficult it can be sometimes. How insulting it must have been to Dan when she gasped, "How could I leave my dogs for 2 months? I don't know if I could do that." Um, hello? I think kids mean a bit more than doggies. Dylan's story was okay. It didn't seem to me that he had any type of confidence at all (off stage or on) in his performances. They show him up there, but I wondered why the director choose to follow him, because he hasn't quite developed a personality for this line of work just yet. He's extremely shy and very timid -- even when he gets on stage, he is very hard to hear and he seems especially nervous. You get a little bit more information on Terry Fator, even get to see him perform a little bit in a show back in his hometown and from his Vegas show.

It's a good view for the whole family -- good, clean fun. The kids were very interested in it and I have to say, me too. You will laugh at some of the puppetry antics but don't be surprised if you find yourself tearing up over the real-life characters as well. More reviews at www.soveryterry.com Final Grade: A-