Dedication (film)

Dedication
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Justin Theroux
Produced by	Justin Theroux Celine Rattray
Written by	David Bromberg
Starring	Tom Wilkinson Billy Crudup Mandy Moore
Music by	Ed Shearmur
Cinematography	Stephen Kazmierski
Editing by	Andy Keir
Studio	Plum Pictures
Distributed by	The Weinstein Company First Look Pictures
Release date(s)	October 10, 2008 (2008-10-10)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$250,182

Dedication is a 2007 American romantic comedy film starring Billy Crudup and Mandy Moore. Written by David Bromberg, this film is actor Justin Theroux's directorial debut. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. It was produced by Plum Pictures.

Plot

Henry Roth (Billy Crudup) is an obsessive-compulsive and somewhat misanthropic writer of children's books. His illustrator and only friend, Rudy (Tom Wilkinson), dies after a fabulously successful collaboration on their series of children's books about "Marty the Beaver." Henry is under contract to produce another Marty book for Christmas sales. His publisher, Arthur Planck (Bob Balaban), assigns penniless, lovelorn illustrator Lucy Reilly (Mandy Moore) to work with Henry. She's sought by her ex-boyfriend Jeremy (Martin Freeman), who dumped her two years ago but shows up apologetic, having dedicated his new book to her. She and Henry go to a house on the shore to work. Will love bloom amid the rocks, or is Henry a bump on Lucy's road to Jeremy? Rudy's voice, from the grave, gives Henry counsel.

Cast

• Tom Wilkinson as Rudy Holt
• Billy Crudup as Henry Roth
• Mandy Moore as Lucy Reily
• Bob Balaban as Arthur Planck
• Jeremy Shamos as Matthew
• Martin Freeman as Jeremy
• Christopher Fitzgerald as Robin
• Dianne Wiest as Carol
• Christine Taylor as Allison
• Cassidy Hinkle as Cassidy
• Amy Sedaris as Cassidy's Mom
• Peter Bogdanovich as Roger Spade
• Justin Theroux as Lawyer on phone

Release

The film opened on August 24, 2007 in two theaters, earning an average of $5,958 per theater.

It added two additional theaters the following week, but in its third week (September 7), it left one of the initial screens. Its fourth week also saw the loss of another screen, leaving the film to show in only two theaters (Irvine, CA, Los Angeles, CA) nationwide.

However, in its fifth week, September 21, the film was added to 6 additional theaters (in Palm Desert, CA, San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, Chicago, IL, Royal Oak, MI, Washington DC, Philadelphia, PA, Cambridge, MA) marking the largest theater count it had at one point during its run.

The sixth week, September 28, the film lost two theaters, leaving 6 theaters during its last box office-counting week.

Its seventh week, the film opened in 6 cities (La Jolla, CA, Dallas, TX, Indianapolis, IN, Scottsdale, AZ, Portland, OR, Denver, CO) in which it had not previously been shown.

In November and December 2007, the film started being shown in two-day runs in Northern California (Sonora, Davis, Visalia), marking its final theatrical run.

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received 41% positive reviews, based on 44 reviews.^[1] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 50 out of 100, based on 19 reviews.^[2]

The film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and was given its official selection.

DVD release

The film was released on DVD on February 12, 2008 in the United States. The disc has no bonus features.

References

1. ^ "Dedication - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dedication/. Retrieved 2008-02-23. 
2. ^ "Dedication (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/dedication. Retrieved 2008-02-23. 

External links

• Official website
• Dedication at the Internet Movie Database
• Dedication at AllRovi
• Dedication at Box Office Mojo
• Dedication at Rotten Tomatoes
• Dedication at Metacritic
• Crudup, Moore, Farrow to star in romantic comedy