Mannequin (1987)

Just perfect...

Better Late Then Never

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Movies like this make me miss life back in the late '80s and early '90s when things felt simpler than they are now. Technology was developing but it was not overbearing and everywhere like it is now. Mannequin was a transition movie, coming out of the materialistic Big Eighties into the early '90s era of increasing acceptance of alternative lifestyles.The movie is a lot more progressive than people give it credit for. The artistic main male character was positively juxtaposed against other characters that defined manhood in a negative way (the hyperaggressive security guard and the corporate schmooze). This sends a powerful message that the definition of being a "man" isn't always about being a jerk. Yes, you can find a girlfriend and succeed at life without reducing yourself to being a cog in the machine or macho posturing.I'm giving this movie 10 stars because it deserves a higher rating than it's getting now. Otherwise I'd give it an 8. The movie itself was well made and well directed. The experience of watching this is fun. For those of us old enough to remember when it came out, it is also nostalgic.

Mannequin (1987): Dir: Michael Gottlieb / Cast: Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Estelle Getty, James Spader, G.W. Bailey: Corny romantic comedy that seems to reference the emotional side of love using the term mannequin as a symbol. Andrew McCarthy plays Jonathan Switcher who has a knack for creating art, including a mannequin he recently designed. Unfortunately he has been fired from every job out there. Kim Cattrall prays to the heavens to be vanquished of her Egyptian lifestyle of organized marriage. After an earthquake she is darted ahead to modern day where she inhabits the very mannequin Jonathan created. After landing a job in said store she comes to life, much to his shock but he is the only one who can see her. Preposterous, idiotic and written full formula straight through but one observes that director Michael Gottlieb had an idea. Cattrall is the spirited high full of gusto and enthusiasm. She helps Jonathan become a hit with window dressing thus threatening competition. Other characters cannot be believed. McCarthy is laboring under cardboard material. Estelle Getty as manager is flat. James Spader as Mr. Richards tries too hard. G.W. Bailey as security is an over the top version of his Police Academy role. Finally there is the cliché gay African American named Hollywood who competes with the rest of the fakery. Theme of emotional love barely comes alive in this store window freak show. Score: 4 ½ / 10

Jon is a young artist, but he just doesn't seem to last in any job he does. But when he builds a mannequin, he makes it so perfect, he falls in love with it. It is the first thing he has made that makes him feel like a real artist. The mannequin ends up in the window of a big department store. When he saves the life of the owner of that store, he is rewarded by getting a job at the store as stock boy. Later the mannequin comes to life, who was an ancient Egyptian known as Emmy. The two redesign the window display to make it most eye catching in town. But the store competitors are not happy and will do anything to stop them.......Yes the film is arguably one of the pinnacle movies associated with the eighties, but I guarantee that when you ask anyone about the movie, they will immediately quote the Starship song, and I dare you to remember a scene that wasn't in the music video.Its a case of great song, very average movie. I've seen the film at least six or seven times, and I had no idea that Spader was in it, and I am an eighties (proper) child. Born in the seventies, so I could appreciate the eighties, and not wear a tee saying 'born in the eighties'.But the two leads are great, and Cattrall is less plastic than she is in the abhorrent SATC. And Getty aside, the rest of the cast are just stereotypes. Spader is always the villain, and when he isn't, he's a pervert. Bailey has wandered in from Police Academy, and Taylor must play the most Un PC character ever committed to celluloid.It's not a bad film by any means, it's quite a sunny old ride, it's just a film about a man who is depressed about keeping a job and high maintenance girlfriend, so seeks solace with a shop dummy.When you think about it, it's the eighties version of Crash, which starred Spader too.

Frivolous, fun romantic comedy from the '80s. The basic plot is that a girl (Kim Cattrall) in Ancient Egypt is being forced into a marriage she doesn't want. So she prays to the gods and is magically transported/reincarnated/whatever to the future, where she becomes a mannequin that only comes to life for Andrew McCarthy.I know this movie is almost universally derided but I can't help but love it. It's a sweet, funny, innocently goofy movie that always puts a smile on my face. McCarthy and Cattrall are adorably likable leads. They're helped by a great supporting cast, including Estelle Getty and Meshach Taylor. Not to mention a soundtrack of great '80s songs. In a lot of ways, this movie reminds me of old comedies from the 1930s or 40s. It doesn't care if every little detail of the fantasy plot makes sense. It's just trying to show the audience a good time and, in my case at least, it accomplishes that.