The Realist "Dummy"

Welcome to the world of The Frakenjuice.  This is my third official post and if you have been reading The Frakenjuice from the beginning then you should have a fairly good idea about what the Frakenjuice actually is and some vague thoughts about the great Flabbinzeus. If not, go and check out my last two posts.

Once in a while, you see a movie that makes you wish you owned an African elephant so it could suck out your eyes and stomp on your temples.  Other times, you see a movie that forces you to laugh so hard you wish it were socially acceptable to wear Depends.  And sometimes, you see a movie so frightening that it will never allow you look at pre-teen children in the same light, ever again. Luckily, Greg Pritikin's movie "Dummy," staring Adrain Brody & Milla Jovovich , is filed under none of these categories.

Overall, this frakenjuice infused movie was pleasant. It was like going out to dinner with an old friend you haven't seen in years and coming back from the meal with the feeling of, "Ah, that was pleasant, thank you for a lovely evening," as you retire to a dim-lit bathroom with red lily-pad candles floating around your silkily steaming bath.

"Dummy," builds complex relationships between the many characters which intertwine throughout the movie.  But basically, the movie is about a socially awkward man in his late 20's/early 30's named Steven (Adrian Brody) who still lives with his parents and decides to pursue his passion of being a ventriloquist. This is the basic premise of the movie but becomes more complex as we are introduced to his dysfunctional family, punky best friend Fangora (Milla Jovovich), and an employment agent who Steven falls in love with.  The most enticing aspect of the movie, for me, was the theme of pursuing your passion versus, as Steven's mother tells his sister, Heidi,"being realistic."

In the movie, Steven decides to quit his boring job and pursue ventriloquism, Steven's employment agent, Lorena, seems happy with her job, Fangora is pursuing her passion in music performance, the accountant "stalker" in the movie pursues his passion in acting, and even Steven's retired father spends all his days building model ships. Now, there is never an indication that any of these characters will be successful with their passions but the point of the movie lies more so with merely doing what makes you happy for the sake of passion.

On the other hand, Steven's sister, Heidi, is hyped throughout the movie as being a great singer and when she is asked why she never pursued it, she always gives the same response her mother gives, "It's not realistic."  Heidi's occupation is wedding planning and although she isn't a bad wedding planner you can definitely tell she is not cut out for it.  To make a long story short, Heidi blows up at her mom for never supporting her dream and at the end of the movie,

Heidi performs at the wedding she plans and proves that she is indeed a very talented and passionate singer. However, it is never implied if Heidi will quit her current job to pursue this passion as a full time venture.

In the movie, you can tell that the characters are happiest and most successful when they are doing something they truly love, even if they aren't that great at it.  There is a great scene at the end of the movie when the "stalker" is showing Fangora his acting routine.  The acting is clearly terrible but Fangora loves it because of the heart and passion he puts into his act.  Yet, in the "stalker's" defense, he had just began acting.  If you are a person who doesn't think you should follow your passions, you should at least know that passion sells. Fact.

Think about the moments in your life where you couldn't feign a frown if you tried. When your whole being was aroused by intoxicating thoughts of greater purpose and self-worth. Even if that moment went sour, like a great job that you got laid off of or an ended relationship with a wonderful significant other, the Frakenjuice is about harnessing the memories and feelings from when it was good and learning from your experience.  The Frakenjuice is about finding your true self by reflecting on those types of moments.  If you have no effing clue what your passionate about or love, then honestly, your just not thinking hard enough or you barely care about the quality of your life.  

It is a firm belief of mine that people would rather be really happy than kind-of happy. Reflect on the best times in your life and ask yourself why that time was so, "milkshakes and mountain air." Take the time to pick apart your brain (But not in a demented Hannibal Lector manner). Only you know what makes you feel alive and real. Logically, this is a much more realistic approach to living life, which to me inherently means living up to your potential, rather than getting a job just because it's financially safe...don't be a mindless alpaca.

Vinnie Van Gogh once said that, "Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do.  With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling."

Even if you believe that everything I am saying is load of "self-help" camel dung....beetle, it would just be ignorant for you to thoughtlessly dismiss a firm belief of one of the greatest artist's that has ever lived (I know lots of other influential people have this same ideology, too).

In order to harness the Frakenjuice and life's full potential, it is critical, no matter what kind of background one comes from, to follow what shoots electric eels through your arteries: What makes you feel alive and natural (aka Real)? No, seriously, post below what gives you true purpose in life or even what makes you feel alive, like a real living and breathing component of planet earth? This site is just as hands on as it is read-on.

Also, don't ever blame someone else for your fear of following your passions, just like Heidi blamed her mother for not being supportive thus causing her not to pursue a singing career.  It sucks some people don't support your ventures but it is never too late to begin.  Van Gogh, like Steven, didn't even begin painting until he was nearly 30 years old and spent his previous days as an art dealer, bookstore clerk, and even as a pastor in which he was reportedly fired for being "overzealous."

In addition, it has always seemed to me that people that are bad at their job are usually not that happyt with their work and they have a very "realistic" perspective on life that is not realistic at all. Could you confidently look yourself in the mirror and say, "I can't pursue ____ because it's too outrageous and unrealistic." If you are in that mindset, I urge you to do what I just offered. I guarantee you will feel an unnatural pit and sense of worthlessness that only binds you to your own cell of fear.

To me, the most realistic bet in life is pursuing something that makes you naturally smile and at peace with yourself.  I totally understand the smile imagery was like a 9.762 out of 10 on the corny scale, but that is the realist way I can describe it. 

Even if you fail, you will naturally feel better about yourself with that sort of failure, which then you just have to try over and over again until it becomes a reality like Honest Abe did, rather than the failure of inaction and conformity.  

To close, I leave you with the words of the late great Oscar Wilde and a video of a German boy singing in a high-pitch voice.

"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their life a mimicry, their passions a quotation."

Are you living your life or the life of your peers?