Review of Mannequin (1987) by Dean F — 14 Jul 2008

The old saying that you can't go home again is especially apt when it comes to movies. Back in 1987 when I first saw Mannequin, I remember enjoying it; a bit kooky, but Andrew McCarthy was a rising star, Kim Catrall was an attractive newcomer, and the film was very stylish........

Fast forward to 2008, and a bored me channel surfing across satellite channels. Mannequin was about to start, so what the hey.......90 minutes of visual agony later, I was left pondering what happened!

The film was pretty awful. There was no plot, the acting was hammy to the extreme, the sexual innuendo was bordering on offensive, and the character of Hollywood (a openly gay character, if slightly non-sexual) had jumped over the 'offensive border' and was running deeper into it.

The one positive was I loved the fashions. What was cutting edge at the time, is a timepiece of shiny suits , perms, shoulder pads, and power dressing.

I guess times were more simplistic then, but films such as St Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club still stand up very well, so some of the blame must be shouldered by those involved. Its essentially a 85 minute pop video - all gloss, no substance.

That said, it still has one of the best songs playing over the credits, 'Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now', by Starship. Come to think of it, it was probably the song I liked more than the film.......