Synopsis
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.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Adrien BrodySteven Schoichet
- Milla JovovichFangora "Fanny" Gurkel
- Illeana DouglasHeidi Schoichet
- Vera FarmigaLorena Fanchetti
- Jessica WalterFern Schoichet
- Ron LeibmanLou Schoichet
- Jared HarrisMichael Foulicker
- Helen HanftMrs. Gurkel
- Richmond HoxieSorensen
- Mirabella PisaniBonnie
Recommendations
- 80
Film Threat
With this marvelous cast of characters and the comic brilliance of writer/director Greg Pritikin, nary a minute goes by that you're not slapping your knee with laughter. - 80
Los Angeles Times
A romantic comedy of considerable charm and humor. - 75
Premiere
It's the details that make Dummy such a winner. By way of comparison, consider last summer's "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," in which each actor put a heartfelt spin on his or her one-joke character (the father who believes that Windex cures everything). Well, here's an entire movie built on nuggets like that. - 70
Variety
At this stage, Pritikin shows considerably more aptitude for writing than for directing, and the exuberant eruptions of humor lead one to suspect he should try for outright comedy next time and forget the sentiment. - 63
New York Daily News
Jovovich needed a steadying hand to keep her from flying out of her socks, and Pritikin, on his maiden solo as a director, couldn't or didn't have the heart to provide it. - 50
The New York Times
A mildly engaging addition to that curious sub-genre of American independent filmmaking, the whimsical comedy of Long Island alienation. - 50
New York Post
What could have been a biting dark comedy is, instead, uninspired and generic. The contrived, everybody's-happy finale just makes things worse. - 40
L.A. Weekly
Milla Jovovich, as Steven's Yiddish-spouting punk-rocker friend, is so bad, she's downright entertaining.
