Bambola meccanica mod. Cherry 2000

I can't fathom it.

I don't like either lead actor. The effects are cheesy and below "The A Team." The film doesn't paint in broad strokes; its message is slopped on with push brooms.

But doggone, I get a kick out of this thing everytime it airs.

Maybe it's the handful of stars and almost stars and the games of "Holy Cow! That's where they were then." Marshall Bell, Pamela Gidley, Griffith herself.

Maybe it's the camp, as if the producers knew that a Bruckheimeran picture was beyond them, so they reveled in their low budget and milked everything to the point that teenage boys (my age when I first saw it) can't quite be sure if this is straight or tongue-in-cheek. (The Self-Actualized Nazis of Zone 7, with their proto-New Age totalitarianism are a hoot. Give them more lines!)

It defies explanation, and I suppose it's the mystery that keeps me tuning in.

Sure it's all too obviously influenced by "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior", but it's still consistently engaging entertainment for cult film enthusiasts. Credit has to go to production designer John Jay Moore and cinematographer Jacques Haitkin for giving it just the right slightly futuristic look, and it's got some gorgeous rural vistas to take in. It's a little episodic, but it's also got some energy, and some nifty moments.

Melanie Griffith offers a delightful performance as female "tracker" E. Johnson (the E stands for Edith), hired by lonely man Sam Treadwell (a fairly stiff David Andrews) to take him to a dangerous area where he can find a replacement for his robot wife Cherry (Pamela Gidley). On their journey they run into colourful characters played by such wonderful acting veterans as Ben Johnson, who's endearing as Six Fingered Jake, and Harry Carey Jr., as Snappy Tom.

You know you'll be in for a good time when you look over that supporting cast: Marshall Bell, Laurence Fishburne, Michael C. Gwynne, Brion James, Jack Thibeau, and Robert Z'Dar. The always welcome Tim Thomerson has a particularly amusing role as an unconventional desert dwelling despot, whose followers have it in for people such as Edith. Overall the movie isn't overly flashy, but it's pretty exciting at times, especially the entire sequence with the crane and the water pipe. The soaring score composed by Basil Poledouris ("Conan the Barbarian", "RoboCop", etc.) is fine accompaniment.

Although Thomerson as Lester shows himself to be a serious psycho, this never gets too, too unpleasant, with director Steve De Jarnatt keeping the action moving and having fun with the offbeat little details provided by screenwriter Michael Almereyda (story credit goes to executive producer Lloyd Fonvielle). "Cherry 2000" does know how to send you away with a smile on your face. It may have gotten a limited release in theatres in the 1980s, but 26 years later it proves enjoyable enough to deserve a rediscovery.

Seven out of 10.

This is the kind of film that gets under your skin. One of a small subgenre of Sci-Fi Westerns, its small flashes of inspired writing make it worth watching some night when there's nothing else to do. Cameron Milzer is particularly notable as a blackly comedic psycho-girlfriend, but Tim Thomerson and Melanie Griffith are no slouches themselves. Pleasant bleak visuals and an interesting score from Basil Poledouris (Robocop, Hunt For Red October, & the Conan films, as well as 60 other movies) make for a modest repeat viewability factor. Fun and stupid!

Curious futuristic sci-fi offering has a sexy performance from Griffith and likable work by Thomerson, plus an intriguing high concept premise. It doesn't totally come off, but there's definitely some interesting stuff going on amidst the flaws. Scifi movies about the future often don't date well and this one is no different, but it's not without its charms.

Some action sequences are jarring and out of place; perhaps they should have concentrated more on romancing the two leads, who have nice chemistry. This is grade-c stuff, but somehow whenever I see it on the tube I pause for a while and check it out. Despite flopping when released, this movie has taken on a formidable cult status since. Might be worth a look, especially if you enjoy post-apocalyptic stories like ROAD WARRIOR or WATERWORLD.

When I first saw this movie I was hooked. I watched it many times and I still find new things. It grows on you. Really good cast and storyline. Watch it! Pamely Gidley is just superduper and the settings are like the Wild Wild West!