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Dummy

Dummy

Comedy · Drama · Romance · 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.

Movie details

Dummy

“Sometimes you need a little help finding yourself.”

2002 Comedy · Drama · Romance 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Dummy?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Greg Pritikin

Written by

Greg Pritikin

Adrien Brody

Adrien Brody

Steven Schoichet

Milla Jovovich

Milla Jovovich

Fangora "Fanny" Gurkel

Illeana Douglas

Illeana Douglas

Heidi Schoichet

Vera Farmiga

Vera Farmiga

Lorena Fanchetti

Jessica Walter

Jessica Walter

Fern Schoichet

Ron Leibman

Ron Leibman

Lou Schoichet

Jared Harris

Jared Harris

Michael Foulicker

Court is in session

Put Dummy on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.