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Movies / On DVD / Dedication
Dedication

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Dedication (2007)

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Reviews Counted:44

Fresh:18

Rotten:26

Average Rating:5.2/10

Consensus: Mandy Moore and Billy Crudup's lack of chemistry in Dedication makes it hard to maintain interest in this confused love story.

Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Actor Justin Theroux (MULHOLLAND DRIVE) switches roles and takes a turn behind the camera for the twisted romantic comedy DEDICATION. Billy Crudup stars as Henry, an obsessive-compulsive author of... Actor Justin Theroux (MULHOLLAND DRIVE) switches roles and takes a turn behind the camera for the twisted romantic comedy DEDICATION. Billy Crudup stars as Henry, an obsessive-compulsive author of children's books. Henry is forced by his publisher to team up with a new illustrator, Lucy (Mandy Moore), after his former illustrator, Rudy (Tom Wilkinson), suddenly dies. The author's mental state is so fragile that he continues to communicate with Rudy via the Unisphere--a giant globe that was part of the World's Fair in Queens, New York, in the 1960s. Despite Henry's odd behavior, he strives to work to work with Lucy on a sequel to his successful (and porn inspired) kids book entitled "Marty the Beaver." Tensions mount between this very odd couple, but it's not long before they find a common bond, and their feelings for each other take a romantic turn. Theroux stirs a little subversion into the romantic comedy formula with DEDICATION, but the bulk of the movie sticks to familiar indie-rom-com territory. The soundtrack is laced with indie-rock; the subject matter touches on issues its 20-something target audience will readily identify with; and the quirky characters will appeal to fans of similar fare such as Miranda July's ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW, Mike Mills's THUMBSUCKER, and Zach Braff's GARDEN STATE. This is Theroux's debut as a director, and although DEDICATION is drastically different from his work with mentor David Lynch, it does offer a hint at a future career away from acting. [More]

Starring: Mandy Moore, Billy Crudup, Tom Wilkinson, Bob Balaban

Starring: Mandy Moore, Billy Crudup, Tom Wilkinson, Bob Balaban, Dianne Wiest, Amy Sedaris, Martin Freeman

Director: Justin Theroux

Director: Justin Theroux
Screenwriter: David Bromberg
Producer: Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Galt Niederhoffer
Composer: Ed Shearmur
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Reviews for Dedication

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
03/07/08
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Dedication's problem isn't its idealized conception of love but the thoroughly unconvincing way in which it is realized.

Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | comment Comment
02/12/08
Mark Pfeiffer
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

That's what it takes to make it through this self-consciously dark romantic comedy.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
11/08/07
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

It restores one's faith in Mandy Moore's film career.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
11/07/07
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Theroux shoots and edits creatively, and elicits good performances, so here's hoping he gets another crack behind the camera with a more cohesive and consistent script.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
10/05/07
Marc Mohan
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

Actor Justin Theroux makes an impressive directorial debut, aided by David Bromberg's mordantly funny dialogue.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
10/05/07
Joshua Katzman
Joshua Katzman
Chicago Reader

Dedication is a loopy, semi-romantic comedy better served had it been made by Hal Hartley and released during the autumn of 1994.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/04/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com

It leaves you wishing the oddball couple well.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
09/25/07
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
Slate

Will help Moore get additional notice within the industry, from writers, directors and other creative types who pay attention.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
09/24/07
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
FilmStew.com

Stridently annoying.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/24/07
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

[Director Theroux] has a tendency to overplay things, with self-consciously arty direction and an intrusive soundtrack.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
09/21/07
Walter V. Addiego
Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle

Directed by actor Justin Theroux with a surprisingly saccharine hand, the film is neither believable nor novel.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
09/21/07
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

Billy Crudup and Mandy Moore are immensely likable. We like them so much we regret having to see them in this story.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
09/21/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Theroux brings none of the electric surprise or intensity of his acting to bear on the movie. He seems unhappy with the assignment.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
09/21/07
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

A well-acted comedy-drama that may feature the most disagreeable gang of characters to populate any movie this year. Too bad they're not quite as much fun to watch.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/21/07
John Hartl
John Hartl
Seattle Times

Crudup delivers a bracing, uncompromising performance, but it's unmistakably a solo turn in a romantic comedy that's supposed to be about the blurring of egos and the fusing of two idiosyncratic voices into a single harmonious duet.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/20/07
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin
AV Club

Crudup exhibits admirable restraint. The story would be more compelling, however, had we not seen the same thing before in As Good as It Gets.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
09/20/07
Gianni Truzzi
Gianni Truzzi
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Dedication is engaging for a while, but flits from style to style, from dark to loopy comedy, only to settle on gooey romance.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
09/20/07
Sid Smith
Sid Smith
Chicago Tribune

Gratingly hip, joyless, small-budget Dedication is just another example of what New Yorker magazine recently identified as the 'slacker-striver' trope in today's romances.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/20/07
Hank Stuever
Hank Stuever
Washington Post
 
 
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