| Dedication | |
| Director: | Justin Theroux |
| Producer: | Justin Theroux Celine Rattray |
| Starring: | Billy Crudup Mandy Moore Tom Wilkinson |
| Music: | Ed Shearmur |
| Cinematography: | Stephen Kazmierski |
| Editing: | Andy Keir |
| Studio: | Plum Pictures |
| Distributor: | The Weinstein Company First Look Pictures |
| Runtime: | 95 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Gross: | $250,182 |
Dedication is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Justin Theroux (in his feature directorial debut), written by David Bromberg, and stars Billy Crudup and Mandy Moore. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. It was produced by Plum Pictures.
Henry Roth is an obsessive-compulsive and somewhat misanthropic writer of children's books. His illustrator and only friend Rudy 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 the Beaver" book for Christmas sales. His publisher, Arthur Planck, assigns penniless, lovelorn illustrator Lucy Reilly to work with Henry. She's being wooed by her ex-boyfriend Jeremy, who dumped her two years ago but shows up apologetic, having dedicated his new book to her. Lucy and Henry go to their publisher's beach house to work on the book. 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.
Dedication was filmed in New York City, Wantagh, and Glen Cove.[1] Adult film actor Erik Rhodes filmed a cameo role for the film but his scenes were ultimately edited out.[2]
The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. It was given a limited theatrical release on August 24, 2007, in 4 theaters.[3] The film grossed a domestic total of $92,853 from 8 theaters.
The film received mixed reviews from critics. The film holds a 40% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 45 reviews with an average rating of 5.18/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Mandy Moore and Billy Crudup's lack of chemistry in Dedication makes it hard to maintain interest in this confused love story."[4] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 50 out of 100, based on 19 reviews.[5]
The film was released on DVD on February 12, 2008.[6]