I'm No Dummy
I'm No Dummy: Sometimes You Just Need To Vent is a wonderful look into the world of ventriloquism as well as an entertaining and funny DVD.
Film making 25/25
Video 22/25
Audio 22/25
Bonus Features 20/25
Total 89/100
Lynn Trefzger with her menagerie, Jay Johnson with Bob and Jeff Dunham with his friends are the shows main characters and I use the term characters very loosely here. I'm No Dummy is an in depth look at ventriloquism from its very start to today's top performers at the art of ventriloquism.
I'm No Dummy has some of the best acts in the world from the most entertaining and funny ventriloquist's and their dummy's. Señor Wences, Paul Winchell and some of the great ventriloquists are highlighted as the fathers of today's acts with clips from their shows and explanations about their contributions to the art.
I'm No Dummy runs much like a documentary but with the clips of the greatest ventriloquist acts ever you have plenty to laugh at for the whole hour and a half show. With the short clips of acts you have interviews of a wide range of ventriloquists and their partners for a great look at the entire world of ventriloquism.
The show does concentrate a bit on some of the ground breaking acts like Jay Johnson and his dummy Bob and their appearance on the television sitcom Soap. Other parts of the DVD go on to other acts like Jeff Dunham and Lynn Trefzger but acts like Señor Wences and Jimmy Nelson are used time and again to show different parts of the world of ventriloquism.
The show goes into the beginning of some of the greats and how they got their start as well as various parts of acts that are an intricate part of ventriloquism. Interviews and clips show the physical aspects like not having your lips move and using the dummy to add to the act.
The show is broken down in chapters using headlines for each such as Old School which shows the great acts of the past like Jimmy Nelson and Paul Winchell. Other chapters look at other parts of ventriloquism like Why Vent or how some ventriloquists got their start and just why they do what they do.
Six of the chapters highlight some of the best current and past performers along with their best and most beloved characters to show the best of the best. These six chapters showcase Jay Johnson, Paul Winchell, Señor Wences, Jimmy Nelson, Edgar Bergen and Jeff Dunham.
The show does a great job of mixing the clips of acts and funny scenes of ventriloquism with the educational and entertaining facts and world of ventriloquism. The DVD is packed with the educational and highly entertaining world behind ventriloquism and show many of the various aspects of it.
A great part of the DVD is seeing all the various artists and their partners in the same sitting and parts of their funniest acts from both old and the current crop of ventriloquists. The world of ventriloquism is an art form of entertainment and seeing all the greats in the same place even though many are now gone is wonderful.
The show has a side to it like the look inside the museum of ventriloquism and history of many of the performers that make the DVD a great wealth of information as well as entertainment. Stories about the late greats like Señor Wences and others are a perfect insight into the world of ventriloquism and show how even accidents have lent themselves to some of the best happenings in entertainment.
The DVD is a perfect example of how a great form of entertainment that currently has a vast empty spot in DVD and Blu-ray form that is not readily available for purchase can help fill that void. After catching a few clips of Jeff Dunham on the internet and buying two of his DVD's I searched and found that not many DVD's of ventriloquist acts are available for purchase.
Actually you can count on one hand the number of performances available for purchase from two performers, Jeff Dunham and Terry Fator. While I enjoy and love a great ventriloquist act this decided lack of available entertainment for purchase and enjoyment at home is sad.
I'm No Dummy is not only one of the few ventriloquist DVD acts available but has the great documentary form that adds the facts and world of ventriloquism to the hilarious and highly entertaining clips. The DVD is a fantastic and highly recommended purchase for anyone who likes a great laugh and wonders about the world of ventriloquism.
Audio and video is top rate with great video and near perfect audio as well as some great bonus content that adds a lot to the DVD. The Bonus content has Jeff Dunham showing a fully featured dummy, Skinny, and its particular functions as well as a couple of question and answer sessions from the World Premiere in Seattle, Washington.
The Q&A sessions have several ventriloquists and their partners sit down to answer audience questions as well as breaking out on their own for an entertaining and hilarious addition. I'm No Dummy may have a mix of stars from old and new but is a fantastic and highly entertaining mix of documentary and ventriloquist acts that is well worth the purchase price.