mark.waltz
Androids, clones, aliens, pod people. All non-human, at least in the biblical sense. Almost 30 years have passed since this avant garde comedy came and went, a variation of movie plots that went back to the silent age. Yet strikingly original, this Susan Seidelman has a lot going for it even if this had been done hundreds of times whether in comedy, science fiction or serials.Cult actress Ann Magnuson is smart, attractive and successful, but a dud with men. She becomes involved in business dealings with wacky scientist John Malkovich who has created an android that looks exactly like him, and a series of wacky adventures has Magnuson getting in over her head as she teaches android Malkovich all about life...and love. Practically stealing the film is future "Roseanne" co-star Laurie Metcalf as a love-starved young lady who has a major crush on Malkovich the scientist and ends up on a truly bad date with Malkovich the android. To toss in some class, Polly Bergen is present as Magnuson's opinionated mother. Charming but unremarkable, this checks the viewer into a future we can only pray is false. The actors are all likable and the swift direction helps this fly by, but it hasn't achieved the cult status that this certainly deserves. There are many amusing moments including one where a Jewish coat salesman makes an interesting observation when a naked Malkovich bares all to him and Magnuson without shame.
SnoopyStyle
Frankie Stone (Ann Magnuson) is a modern woman in Miami. She's in public relations and is tired of boyfriend/client politician Steven Marcus. Her mother keeps bothering her about her sister's wedding. Her latest client is repressed scientist Jeff Peters (John Malkovich). He has created the Ulysses android which looks exactly like him. The program is in danger of losing government funding. Ulysses has never seen a woman and Frankie starts teaching him social graces before presenting him on a talk show. Her best friend Trish (Glenne Headly) arrives to stay with her after Trish's soap actor husband left her.The premise is somewhat cute. This is a rom-com where the successful female lead can't find a good man. Ann Magnuson is not a big rom-com actress. A bigger actress could probably make this work better. Malkovich is a stiff scientist and a learning robot. He's fine but not a hunky lead. I don't think any of the jokes are working. Frankie is a nice character but this isn't that funny.
Elswet
Making Mr. Right. The premise behind this film is simple and the sub plots are uncomplicated and sometimes trite, but the movie is consistently contrived, from beginning to end.John Malkovich is a scientist who creates a look-alike android to precede him into space. Ann Magnuson is the assistant who is in love with her boss and ends up spending time with the android. Complications ensue. Well, duh! The suspension of belief required is pretty hard to achieve. In fact, it was impossible to achieve such an extreme level of dim awareness.The only redeeming element associated with this work is John Malkovich's performance, which is startling and Michael Jacksonesque (though not so much so as Depp's Chocolate Factory persona).All in all? Unless you're a die hard John Malkovich fan, this really isn't worth your time.It rates a 4.2/10 from...the Fiend :.
xavrush89
If there were more genuine laugh-out-loud moments in this film, it could have achieved more commercial success. OR, if it hadn't been pitched to audiences as a straight comedy, it could have achieved later status over time as a cult film. This is the approach I think the producers should have taken. This would have made a great indie(rather than a mainstream release by the fledgling Orion Pictures) with Ann Magnuson still as the star. Have the actors play it straight as a character study and let the subtle natural comedy shine through. Laurie Metcalf's dingy character would have to be dismissed or toned down a bit, but otherwise this would work with the same quirky charm that made Mystic Pizza (released the following year) a success.As it is, the film is sweet more than it is funny. And it works thanks to John Malkovich's great dual performances and Magnuson's ability to carry a film (the only time she's been allowed to do so before or since--pity). Believe it or not, this was the film in which I discovered them both, and they should still be proud of having it on their resumes, even with all they went on to accomplish.I shouldn't be too hard on Orion, though. After all, they did put out "The Silence of the Lambs", but they also let "Blue Sky" sit on a shelf until they went belly-up and another studio had to release it four years after it was completed. The only flaw is not in this film itself, but in the way it was marketed and what I as an audience member expected going into it. This film deserves rediscovery--and if it gets it, there's the added bonus of '80s nostalgia in the fashions and some of the dialogue.
AD
