Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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“Dummy” is one of those shows which toe the line between having deep meaning and being mindless entertainment.
| Network | Quibi |
| Creator(s) | Cody Heller |
| Aired | April 2020 |
| Genre(s) | Comedy, Fantasy, Young Adult |
| Noted Cast | |
| Cody | Anna Kendrick |
| Dan | Donal Logue |
| Barbara | Meredith Hagner |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Season Plot Synopsis
Cody Heller is the real-life girlfriend of Dan Harmon, known for “Community,” “Rick and Morty,” among many other shows. With that in mind, she is sort of in his shadow, and while that could be manageable if that just played a role in their romantic relationship, it also affects Cody professionally due to her being a comedy writer and the conversation constantly shifting towards Dan. So, the way the first season plays out, upon discovering Dan’s talking sex doll, that only Cody can hear, she bonds with it seemingly due to it being a reflection of herself. It is her fears, the things she needs to hear, and the friend she apparently doesn’t have since Dan’s world is all-consuming. Together, throughout 10 episodes, Cody and the sex doll, Barbara, help Cody understand herself and get into some hijinks.
Highlights
There Can Be More To It Than Meets The Eye
In pockets, “Dummy” shows itself capable of being something more. With Barbara, you can see commentary on women in terms of how they can feel disposable, are catty to prop themselves up, and even, in relation to Dan, how there can come a point where they are things more than people. Hence Dan using Barbara and not cleaning her out. And in relation to Cody, while there is no question of whether Dan likes Cody, her insecurities do push the point of fearing Dan has all these options, so why did he pick her?
Thus giving you multiple ways of seeing this comedy as more so a light Dramedy for it is in exploring Cody’s insecurities and fears, and her projecting that onto Barbara, that this show gets some oomph.
On The Fence
Barbara & The Self-Serving Feminist Jokes
If you’re the type who finds jokes about feminism asinine, this show may not be for you. Especially since rarely are the jokes insightful or funny. They are lukewarm, at best, feel like they are taking on well-treaded topics and avenues, and the main reason you might be able to deal with them is the show is around 8 minutes an episode. Making the pain inflicted not long enough for you to just immediately stop watching.
Dan Is Such A Small Part Of This Show
Unfortunately, just as much as Dan’s name may dominate Cody’s interactions in real life, even with him barely seen on the show, the name is a shadowy figure you look around the corner for. Mainly due to it seeming, maybe on purpose, Cody is wrestling away from Dan’s name dominating the conversation so much, yet you never getting a vibe of who Cody is. Yeah, she is funny too, but how funny? What are her best jokes, and who was she before Dan? Nearly the entire season is about being with Dan but not of him, and yet it never finds a mean to fulfill that goal.
Overall
Review Summary: One and Done
Rating: Mixed (Stick Around)
While a bit of a bumpy ride at times, “Dummy” benefits from its short episode time length, for it isn’t a long enough investment to get you to stop. If anything, it feels like free samples that, while it may not be the best taste, you feel like you can’t really make up your mind until you have more. Leading to you finishing the whole sample and, honestly, still unsure if you like what you consumed or not.
Hence the mixed label for while there is potential here, it is hard to say if the goal of the show matches up with where its potential lays.
Season 2 of Quibi’s “Dummy”
Has Another Season Been Confirmed?
It just finished, so no.
What We Expect From The Next Season
With Cody moving in with Dan and also Cody trying to sell her pilot script featuring the premise of “Dummy,” it could mean season 1 focused on Cody’s personal growth, and season 2 could deal with relationship dynamics. For with Cody being younger than Dan and not as successful, much less the stereotypical girlfriend who will drop anything and everything for her man, clearly things need to change for there to be longevity between the two.
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