Updated: 4/21//2011
author: Deka Nine

'Dumbstruck' Vents with a Strong Voice (and a Closed Mouth)

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Vents Kim and Dylan are featured in 'Dumbstruck'

If you are a fan of White Collar, Law & Order, and The West Wing, you have heard of Mark Goffman, the writer and producer.

Dumbstruck is his first directorial debut, and it is set to dazzle the audience. Goffman chose to make his directorial debut a documentary even though the market for them is not doing so well. Goffman explains in Huffington Post Entertainment, “It all started with a toast at my wedding. My mother-in-law, who is extraordinarily shy, shocked our 200 friends and family when she held up her white-gloved hand, and it began to speak…and move us to tears…this began my adventure into the world of ventriloquism.”

So, Goffman and his wife set out to explore the world of ventriloquism in 2007 which astonishes them and leave the audience dumbstruck. Dumbstruck is not a movie about ventriloquism but about the lives of five people who are ventriloquists. Goffman brings you to these five people’s world—ventriloquism—from Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky to Japan and cruise ships.

These five people are Wilma Swartz, a 6 ft 5” woman whose family shuts her out because of ventriloquism, Dan Horn, a successful cruise ship performer with marriage troubles because of his job, Dylan Burdette, a 13-year-old boy whose father wants him to join sport instead of playing around with dummies, Kim Yeager, a former beauty queen whose mother pressures her to settle down and have real kids instead of her “puppet children”, and Terry Fator, the America’s Got Talent winner who was scraping by before the show.

Dumbstruck shows the lives of these ventriloquists and how they make sacrifices for their art and passion. Skepticism is felt when Dumbstruck shows the lives of these five stars individually; however, as the movie progresses, their lives being to intertwine. They all meet at Vent Haven ConVENTion, the biggest and only convention for ventriloquists. Each convention has become a family reunion, and the joy the film's characters show as the gather is one of the most touching moments of the film.

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Wilma, her puppet and her pal "Tigerman" in 'Dumbstruck'

As the movie unravels, it becomes human. The pain and joy pour out every step of the way. Yes, ventriloquism is supposed to be funny, but this movie is about five people who stand by their passion through thick and thin. These five people are real; their lives are not scripted. They vent when they are frustrated and hurt like other people. Instead of using their mouth, they have helps from their special friends.

After you check out the movie, you might even get inspired to try out ventriloquism. Who knows? You might win the lottery and be the next Terry Fator. Fator stopped his lottery pursuit to hone his craft and sign $100 million contract.

Goffman hits the jackpot with the interesting twists of events in these people lives. It kinds of leave you speechless – which, as Dumbstruck shows, can be a powerful state.

See it or Skip it?: SEE IT!