I used to love Mannequin. I'm not ashamed to say it. I could happily rewatch it many times over one weekend. I was young. I was more innocent. I was stupid. Watching it nowadays, after a verrrrrrrry long gap, it soon becomes clear that Mannequin is a bit rubbish. There are still some things to like about it, but you really have to sift through a lot of dirt to find the tiniest little grains of gold.
Andrew McCarthy is Jonathan Switcher, a young man who ends up being unable to hold down a job. He's not being lazy or unrealistic, oh no. He's just an artist, and he needs to do something that helps to fulfil his artistic soul. This is frustrating for his girlfriend, Roxie (Carole Davis). Things change, however, when Switcher saves Claire Timkin (Estelle Getty) from a falling sign outside a department store. It's basically her department store, and she offers Switcher a job. He starts off as a stockroom worker, but eventually meets a mannequin (Emmy, played by Kim Cattrall) that comes alive at night and helps him become a celebrated window dresser. This pleases the flamboyant Hollywood (Meshach Taylor), but displeases the greasy and gurning Richards (James Spader). It also displeases B. J. Wert (Stephen Vinovich), the owner of a rival department store who was ready to buy his ailing competitor at a bargain price.
It's unsurprising to see that this was actually the first theatrical feature for director Michael Gottlieb, who also co-wrote the screenplay with fellow newbie Edward Rugoff. It's a bit more surprising to note the few punchlines that still work though. For example, there's the typical '80s horndog (Armand, played by Christopher Maher) who thinks he is about to have his dreams come true at one point . . . only for his night to fall a bit flat. He may then immediately seek to blame someone else, but it's good to see this being the end of a series of "gags" that were all based on his constant harassment of a woman he wanted to sleep with. Then there are the moments of physical comedy supplied by G. W. Bailey, playing a security guard not a million miles removed from the character her portrayed in the Police Academy movies. Mind you, the gags that work are still not good enough to distract you from the fact that Emmy was "made" by Switcher (a mannequin he worked on for a long time before inevitably being fired), and does everything she can in order to support him and improve his life. She resorts to her unmoving mannequin state when anyone else is around, and seems content to be kept in stasis in between nights she can spend with our leading man.
McCarthy is, just like this movie, someone I used to like a lot in the 1980s. I still like some of his performances, but he's unable to do enough here to make his character as appealing as he should be. He has a few character quirks (drives a motorbike, wears trainers with his trousers, etc.), but there's nothing about him that feels truly special. Cattrall, on the other hand, is wonderful, and does her best in a role that surely didn't seem as good on the page. Her character works so well because of the combination of beauty, energy, and fun that Cattrall tends to carry into everything. Taylor isn't very good, but he definitely makes an impression, and the third act allows him to show how supportive and open-minded good friends should be with one another. Getty is perfectly fine, Davis does well, even if she just has to be the girlfriend who is viewed with disdain for, ummmmm, being successful and responsible, and Vinovich is a decent enough big bad boss ordering his minions to use dirty tricks. It's Spader and Bailey who stand out though, the former giving a performance up there with the greasiest and smarmiest of the decade, which is really seeing something. Replace his character with Jeffrey Combs from The Frighteners and you don't change the film much, that is how entertainingly over the top he plays it. Bailey is helped by the fact that he's accompanied by a, hmmm, "beloved" dog for most of his screentime, but he's an enjoyably inept menace throughout, even if, or perhaps because, his performance doesn't well with the tone of the rest of the movie.
You get a bit of "My Girl" on the soundtrack, and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (performed by Starship) plays over the end credits, but the other songs featured here are very forgettable, even when used for the expected montage moments. The department store setting is shot impressively for a few decent scenes, but a lot of the film feels thrown together, without any thought for real texture or plausibility (e.g. the apartment that McCarthy seems to live quite comfortably in, despite his poor record when it comes to employment). Can you ignore all of the ridiculousness to find some enjoyment here? I think so, especially if you're a fan of Cattrall. It's difficult though, and weird to watch this nowadays and think of it being a decent box office success (it certainly did well enough to help Starship have a hit song on their hands). Still . . . I can't hate it. And I could probably rewatch it, if forced. Although how knows if I will still be thinking that way when I finally get around to watching the sequel.
6/10
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