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.

"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.

I liked this movie. Andrew McCarthy is a classic 80's actor, paired with another 80's co-star James Spader in a cute comedy about a mannequin who comes to life. The music is cool, and it is a cute love story. Meshach Taylor is hilarious as Hollywood, the other window dresser. Watch if you are in the mood for an 80's flick.

I watched this movie from a Korean Version of Mannequin. They showed a couple of new scenes from the movie that I have never seen in the 1987 version. There is a scene where right before Jonathan Switcher leaves Prince and Company by motorcycle in the rain they go back to Emmy and she is putting her hands on the window and saying I will see you again.