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Actors: Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Walter, Jared Harris
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Dummy |
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Steven is unemployed, nearing 30, and still living with his parents and adult sister, Heidi. He is chronically self-effacing. Heidi calls him a loser. Mom dotes on him annoyingly. Dad detaches himself in model-building. Heidi, a bitter wedding planner who'd rather be a singer, has a deranged ex-fiance named Michael who obsesses on her and pesters Steven to give her messages. Steven's best friend since they were both high school outcasts is Fangora, a brash punk rocker who makes up in chutzpah what she lacks in talent. She is as agressive as Steven is shy, and as wildly optimistic about hitting the big time as he is prone to giving up. She is great at encouraging him, but her advice is usually misguided at best. (For example, she tells him to woo a girl with romantic classical music - by John Philip Sousa.)
Steven's lifelong dream is to be a ventriloquist. He buys a dummy and studies performing. Soon, this smart-aleck little sidekick is giving him sage advice. Steven has a crush on his employment councillor, Lorena. Fangora pushes him into making a splashy impression by painting a bold message on Lorena's door. Lorena responds by slapping a restraining order on him. But his dummy will not let him blame Fangora and slink away beaten. With Fangora's help, he makes a video apology that melts Lorena. They begin to date. At first, she is amused by his ever-present dummy and undaunted by his inconsiderate family. But his shy resistance to romantic intimacy leads to their breakup. His dummy tells him he's an idiot. He agrees. He takes its advice to grow up by giving the dummy away. On his own, he develops a bond with his sister by siding with her in an argument with their mother, and by coming through for her by retrieving the dummy to perform at a reception when her scheduled entertainer dies. A big test of his budding courage comes when the pesky Michael pulls a gun on Heidi for rejecting his overtures, also threatening Steven and reception guest Lorena. One look at his dummy tells him what to do. But will it be enough to impress Lorena?
--vjm, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Dummy |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Romance/Love/Hugging
Yes
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- eccentricity
Lover is...
- shy/inexperienced
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) very skinny
Events of movie makes character more...
- aggressive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- An "It".
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
How much in movie?
- 90%-100%
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
Setting
United States
Yes
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- full of laughter
Any profanity?
- Some foul language
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 vjm
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