Mannequin (1987)
September 7, 2022 11:46 AM - Subscribe
A newly employed window dresser accidentally finds the mannequin he made is cursed.
Jonathan Switcher, an unemployed artist, finds a job as an assistant window dresser for a department store. When Jonathan happens upon a beautiful mannequin he previously designed, she springs to life and introduces herself as Emmy, an Egyptian under an ancient spell. Despite interference from the store's devious manager, Jonathan and his mannequin fall in love while creating eye-catching window displays to keep the struggling store in business.
A truly 80s retelling of Galatea.
Starring: Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, James Spader, G.W Bailey, and Estelle Getty.
Jonathan Switcher, an unemployed artist, finds a job as an assistant window dresser for a department store. When Jonathan happens upon a beautiful mannequin he previously designed, she springs to life and introduces herself as Emmy, an Egyptian under an ancient spell. Despite interference from the store's devious manager, Jonathan and his mannequin fall in love while creating eye-catching window displays to keep the struggling store in business.
A truly 80s retelling of Galatea.
Starring: Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, James Spader, G.W Bailey, and Estelle Getty.
I loved this movie as a kid and now I want to see it as I haven't in many many years. Definitely not since 2000.
posted by Kitteh at 12:10 PM on September 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Kitteh at 12:10 PM on September 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Don't forget Meshach Taylor's star turn as Hollywood Montrose. The sunglasses, oh my, the sunglasses.
posted by soelo at 2:17 PM on September 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by soelo at 2:17 PM on September 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Wow I haven't thought about this movie in thirty years. Just seeing the name brought me back to the smell of my mom's basement. Wow.
posted by Literaryhero at 10:08 PM on September 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Literaryhero at 10:08 PM on September 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
This movie was so crazy. The entire premise of it. Why an Egyptian lady (looking white) magically gets...whatever, traveling through time?... happening to her before she somehow becomes a part-time dummy. Why anyone would randomly turn into a mannequin. How one "designs" a mannequin (yeah, right) and can tell it apart from the other ones. How he got fired for taking too long at it :P Why the mannequin had dark curly hair that looked NOTHING AT ALL LIKE KIM CATTRALL'S and nobody cared. How Jonathan's last name seems to change from Switzer to Switcher as the movie goes on. And Hollywood is a gem. Estelle Getty is also very sweet. And watching that poor security guard and his dog basically have a well-deserved nervous breakdown...
I did enjoy the window dressing, that got pretty crazy. I love a crazy shop window and they hardly happen these days unless they involve pets in the window at Christmas. On a semi-related note, I was all hyped for the Hallmark movie "Window Wonderland" hoping they'd do something like this, but they did not. Bummer.
"Why don't I get GI Joe and we can double sometime?" is THE best line about this movie.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:52 AM on September 8, 2022 [3 favorites]
I did enjoy the window dressing, that got pretty crazy. I love a crazy shop window and they hardly happen these days unless they involve pets in the window at Christmas. On a semi-related note, I was all hyped for the Hallmark movie "Window Wonderland" hoping they'd do something like this, but they did not. Bummer.
"Why don't I get GI Joe and we can double sometime?" is THE best line about this movie.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:52 AM on September 8, 2022 [3 favorites]
There is a Bob's Burgers episode called God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins that is also about a mannequin that comes to life, in a way. Worth a watch.
posted by soelo at 12:18 PM on September 8, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by soelo at 12:18 PM on September 8, 2022 [2 favorites]
Culture critic Matt Baume made a delightful video about Hollywood:
Hollywood Montrose: Mannequin’s Gay Hero (22 min)
posted by cadge at 5:25 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Hollywood Montrose: Mannequin’s Gay Hero (22 min)
posted by cadge at 5:25 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Important announcement: this is now streaming on HBO!!
posted by skycrashesdown at 8:51 PM on March 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by skycrashesdown at 8:51 PM on March 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
I watched this the other night for no particular reason. I thought that I'd seen it before, but about 10 minutes in, I realized that I was actually remembering Today's Special, which is also about a mannequin who comes to life but is something very, very different.
In any case, this movie is delightfully bonkers. Everything about it is just unhinged and nonsensical, but Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall are so charming, and Meshach Taylor so perfectly extra, that nothing else really matters. Plus James Spader in a completely batshit performance! And a flamboyantly femme queer man who is treated with dignity and winds up saving the day! My god. What a film.
As a spooky bonus, my wife's great uncle is in this movie, which I didn't know until I started watching it and saw his face. Turns out I was watching it on his birthday; I am told that every year on his birthday, someone in the family accidentally sees him on TV, a wink from the Great Beyond. Who am I to say?
posted by uncleozzy at 5:50 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
In any case, this movie is delightfully bonkers. Everything about it is just unhinged and nonsensical, but Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall are so charming, and Meshach Taylor so perfectly extra, that nothing else really matters. Plus James Spader in a completely batshit performance! And a flamboyantly femme queer man who is treated with dignity and winds up saving the day! My god. What a film.
As a spooky bonus, my wife's great uncle is in this movie, which I didn't know until I started watching it and saw his face. Turns out I was watching it on his birthday; I am told that every year on his birthday, someone in the family accidentally sees him on TV, a wink from the Great Beyond. Who am I to say?
posted by uncleozzy at 5:50 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by miss-lapin at 11:47 AM on September 7, 2022 [5 favorites]