Mannequin

"Mannequin" is a silly movie to be sure. But I found it to be very funny at times. I was just a teenager when I first saw this movie back when it came out in 1987. My mom took me and a friend to see this, and we all laughed and had a good time. It's no classic, but so what. All that matters is that it's a fun movie, and that's exactly what this is. Andrew McCarthy stars as a man who's had bad luck with working jobs. His main interest is to be a sculptor. At one of his jobs he made mannequins, and for some odd reason he seems to fall in love with the last mannequin he made. Later he gets employed at a department store that has taken that mannequin in. And before you know it, the mannequin comes to life in the form of an Egyptian princess. But she only comes to life when the two are alone together. When someone else comes into the scene, she freezes up and turns into a mannequin again. This may sound like a stupid premise, but I don't care. "Mannequin" is a movie that's very entertaining. It's not a laugh riot, but I did laugh quite a bit throughout. Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall (as the mannequin) look as if they're having a blast, and if I was the McCarthy character, I would have a blast too. The supporting cast includes Estelle Getty (from TV's "The Golden Girls") as Mrs. Timkin, the friendly owner of the store; James Spader (in an early film role) as the smarmy manager of the store; G.W. Bailey (from the "Police Academy" films) as the bumbling midnight security guard of the store (who spends most of his time talking to his dog); Meshach Taylor (from TV's "Designing Women") as McCarthy's assistant (who acts strange most of the time); and Carole Davis as McCarthy's former girlfriend (who works at a rival department store nearby). All join in on the lunacy of "Mannequin". This is a nice, little picture.

*** (out of four)

I liked it. It's not cinema history. It's a fairy tale, complete with all the character types of that genre. The soundtrack makes me nostalgic for a time when I was young and dated dumb--well, no--I was the dummy back then (now, too, come to think of it).

The supporting cast did very well with very mediocre writing. Estelle Getty, James Spader, G.W. Bailey--and especially Mesach Taylor (Hollywood) played, respectively, the Fairy Godmother, the Ogre, his evil Henchman--and the faithful Sidekick/Buddy/Wingman. They did so with such panache that they carried the story to the level of farce.

The formula used in the movie for transformation I lost, but the point of this type of fairy tale is that Love does indeed transform people.

There's a lot of bad reviews here, which is unfortunate. The movie was released in time for Valentine's Day. I cannot remember a Valentine's Day where the mood was marked by anything other than the silly, laughing, playful mood that is captured in this movie.

In Edfu, in the ancient Egypt, the young Ema "Emmy" Hesire (Kim Cattrall) is a woman ahead of time. When her mother tries to force her to marry a manure dealer, she wishes to go to the future and vanishes.

In the present days, in Pennsylvania, Jonathan Switcher (Andrew McCarthy) is an idealistic young artist that builds a mannequin. However, he is inefficient and can not keep his jobs and his ambitious girlfriend Roxie (Carole Davis) leaves him. But Jonathan sees his mannequin in the window of the Prince and Company Department Store.

On the next morning, he saves the life of Ms. Claire Timkin (Estelle Getty), who owns the Prince & Co., and she asks the corrupt manager Richards (James Spader) to give the position in the stock to Jonathan. The Prince & Co. is near bankruptcy and the Illustra Company intends to but it, using Richards to sabotage the Department Store.

Emmy comes back to life for Jonathan and they arrange wonderful windows. Jonathan is promoted to window dresser, working with the gay Hollywood Montrose (Meshach Taylor) that becomes his friend. Soon Jonathan becomes a successful designer, leveraging the Prince & Co and is promoted to VP. But Illustra's General Manager, Roxie and Richards want to force Jonathan to work for Illustra and kidnap Emmy.

"Mannequin" is one of my favorite films and I can not precisely tell how many times I have watched it. Andrew McCarthy was successful in the 80's and Kim Cattrall is one of the sexiest Hollywood actresses ever. The excellent James Spader is caricatural in the role of Richards and Meshach Taylor is hilarious in the role of a gay window dresser. The result is one of the funniest and most delightful comedies of the 80's. The soundtrack is also wonderful. Unfortunately the IMDb User rating does not mirror the truth about this wonderful and romantic fantasy. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Manequim" ("Mannequin")

The low IMDb rating for MANNEQUIN is imbecilic. This is a thoroughly delightful mixture of madcap comedy and romance, played to the hilt by a sparkling cast of players who all have a gift for comedy.

ANDREW McCARTHY is at his best as a young man drifting from job to job who ends up employed by ESTELLE GETTY at her almost defunct department store. It isn't until he gets real inspiration for window displays from a mannequin who becomes a real person whenever others aren't around, that the picture soars into romantic fantasy. KIM CATTRALL is the gorgeous dummy who comes to life and wins the heart of the hero who is at first reluctant to believe his own eyes.

The sets and costumes are fantastic, the supporting cast is excellent and the script stays in high gear until the last twenty minutes when things get a little too hectic, even for a comedy/fantasy. But it's all in good fun, a cheerful flick easily enjoyable if you like fantasies of this kind and all of it is well photographed in pleasing color with splendid sets.

ANDREW McCARTHY, KIM CATTRALL, JAMES SPADER (especially funny as a smarmy business man), and G.W. BAILEY (as the night detective) all demonstrate a flair for comedy in roles they obviously enjoyed playing.

Well worth watching.

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.