Runtime: 107 minutes
Directed by: Richard Attenborough
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margaret, Burgess Meredith, Ed Lauter, David Ogden Stiers
From: 20th Century Fox
A look at the life of Jeff Dunham?
For the next few days, I expect to extend the trend of seeing horror films either set or having been made in the late 70's/early 80's. This and something I'll view later in the week was recorded Monday night on HDNet Movies onto the ol' DVR. This movie is far more than an infamous commercial which managed to be traumatizing to millions of children just from having a creepy-looking ventriloquist dummy talking to the audience.
The movie could have turned out real sour considering it's based on a book which does not directly translate to the screen yet its author also wrote the screenplay... plus the gimmick is kind of wacky. Yet it managed to be a pretty good movie which actually isn't about a killer ventriloquist doll and instead is more grounded, which makes it all the more tragic. A rather awkward magician manages to find success after incorporating a vulgar dummy into his act but fear of stardom is not why he is wary of advancing farther in his career...
This does have some assets in its favor: Richard Attenborough does a solid job as director, as is the main cast of Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margaret-it's not hard to understand why our lead falls for her-Burgess Meredith (sporting a unique look because it was based on an old agent known as Swifty Lazar) and Ed Lauter, with a young in comparison Anthony as the highlight. I've learned the Jerry Goldsmith score is divisive but I liked it; plenty of time was spent in rural California-which served as rural New York state-and it was quite scenic. In this day and age I appreciate long scenes featuring only two quality actors that talk to each other and it manages to be captivating; this has plenty of that. While I won't call anyone a dummy for scoffing at the premise of the movie, it is definitely NOT something like Child's Play or even the ventriloquist doll final segment in the Dead of Night anthology; this was even better than what I was hoping for.
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