This movie doesn't take itself seriously so why should we? Although Michael Gottlieb says it was based on an original idea, there are great similarities between this film and 1948's "One Touch of Venus". In both films a man with an artistic bent but a lack of self confidence is helped and loved by a mannequin/statue that only comes to life in his presence. This film is different in that protagonist Jonathan Switcher only brings the mannequin to life after a long string of job losses and then finally being dumped by his ambitious girlfriend, the obvious comparison being that the mannequin (Kim Cattrell) is more human than Jonathan's cold wooden girlfriend (Carole Davis).
Probably released with a teen audience in mind - I was 29 when it came out - it really fits the bill if you are in the mood for good old low brow humor with lots of broad physical comedy and one liners. Kim Cattrell could never be Ava Gardner (the statue in the 1948 film) but she's got that "I'll love you no matter what" look down pat that would make any man feel like a king. James Spader has never looked like a more unlikeable little toad, and that is quite a feat when you know how handsome he is/was.
Note that this thing is like a roll call of 80's sitcoms. There's Estelle Getty as the owner of the department store who played the eighty year old mom with a quick wit and smart mouth on "The Golden Girls". Here she plays basically the same character, only younger. Meshack Taylor was the comic foil for the ladies of "Designing Women", and G.W. Bailey played a serious role as a psychiatrist during the first season of "Saint Elsewhere" before taking on film roles where he largely played the buffoon. That is the case here where he plays the store security guard who for some reason is allowed to roam the store with a dog that is known to bite - I can only imagine what the store's insurance premiums are.
Watch this movie for "one touch of the 80's" and, like I said at the beginning, just have fun with it.
Probably released with a teen audience in mind - I was 29 when it came out - it really fits the bill if you are in the mood for good old low brow humor with lots of broad physical comedy and one liners. Kim Cattrell could never be Ava Gardner (the statue in the 1948 film) but she's got that "I'll love you no matter what" look down pat that would make any man feel like a king. James Spader has never looked like a more unlikeable little toad, and that is quite a feat when you know how handsome he is/was.
Note that this thing is like a roll call of 80's sitcoms. There's Estelle Getty as the owner of the department store who played the eighty year old mom with a quick wit and smart mouth on "The Golden Girls". Here she plays basically the same character, only younger. Meshack Taylor was the comic foil for the ladies of "Designing Women", and G.W. Bailey played a serious role as a psychiatrist during the first season of "Saint Elsewhere" before taking on film roles where he largely played the buffoon. That is the case here where he plays the store security guard who for some reason is allowed to roam the store with a dog that is known to bite - I can only imagine what the store's insurance premiums are.
Watch this movie for "one touch of the 80's" and, like I said at the beginning, just have fun with it.