Movie Notes: Dummy
= 2 stars
Starring Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illena Douglas
Directed by Greg Pritikin
Synopsis
Thirty and still living with his parents, Steven (Adrien Brody) takes up ventriloquism. Meanwhile, his sister Heidi (Illena Douglas) deals with a stalker ex-boyfriend, and good friend Fangora (Milla Jovovich) offers advice on wooing cute guidance counselor Lorena (Vera Farmiga).
The Good
- Brody and Douglas make great bickering siblings, and Milla Jovovich comes out of left field as a crazed, pissed off alterna-chick trapped in suburbia.
- The film does take some odd twists and turns, with the sub plot of a drunken-stalker-ex.
The Bad
- The central story of a man and his dummy never quite gelled for me, unlike Lars and The Real Girl which explored the same subject matter to better comic effect.
- Falls into that indie flick pattern of cute, kooky characters and their anti-social behavior, and doesn’t rise above to commentary on life in general.
Conclusion
An indie flick of this nature has to offer something more to really pull me in. I didn’t find it as compelling as Lars And The Real Girl. With a few good performances trying to rise above the material, the end result actually reminded me of Junebug — another indie, two star movie.
IMDB: Dummy
Wikipedia: Dummy
Rotten Tomatoes: Dummy 71%