Mannequin

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.

"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)

This film is proof that not every movie needs to have academy award winning performances, a gripping plot and special effects to be enjoyable. Mannequin is certainly not a spectacular piece of cinematic achievement, but its simplicity and light-heartedness is what makes it great! I've loved this movie ever since I was a kid and I always, and still do, find it a fun and enjoyable watch, especially on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Jonathan Switcher is a down-on-his-luck artist. He can't hold down a regular job because his creativity keeps on sabotaging his productivity. One day he saves a little old lady who gratefully offers him employment at the department store that she owns. Jonathan goes to work arranging the store's window displays, and happens across a mannequin that he built during one of his short lived careers. Low and behold, the mannequin he created comes to life when the two of them are alone and a fun and silly romantic comedy ensues.

The entire plot is quite silly and full of holes, but the movie is pure fun. Andrew McCarthy is cute and endearing as always and Kim Cattrall is fun and witty as the bubbly mannequin. This film is rife with great one-liners and hysterical situations and of course a great 80's style musical montage. Actual one of the most unfortunate things about this film is that the music is great and a soundtrack album was never released! For shame!

Of course Mannequin isn't thought-provoking, nor is it clever or cinematic ally impressive. It's just a cute silly little film that will make you laugh as long as you don't take it too seriously.

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")

I doubt that this is one of the best films ever made, but it is without a doubt one of the better films of the eighties. The acting from McCarthy and Cattrall is superb and the soundtrack is also credible. There are some bad points, but they only show if you analyse too cynically. Some call ti the seminal eighties movie, and rightfully so with many decade references and costume get ups, (think Hollywood Montross, and the scene where Emmy and Jonathon dance there way through the store) All in all a good movie, worthy of 4.5 out of 5 stars