Mannequin (1987)

Mannequin is a 1987 American romantic comedy film starring Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Meshach Taylor, James Spader, G. W. Bailey an...

Mannequin is a 1987 American romantic comedy film starring Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Meshach Taylor, James Spader, G. W. Bailey and Estelle Getty. Directed and written by Michael Gottlieb, the film was also co-written by Edward Rugoff. The original music score was composed by Sylvester Levay. A modern retelling of the Pygmalion myth, the film tells about a chronically underemployed artist named Jonathan Switcher (played by Andrew McCarthy) who gets a job as a department-store window dresser and falls in love with a mannequin (played by Kim Cattrall)—the attraction being that she comes to life on occasion, but only for him.  {full_page}

Mannequin received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for its main title song, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship. The song reached No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 on April 4, 1987, and #1 on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks the following month. In 1991, a sequel to the film called Mannequin Two: On the Move was released.

In Ancient Egypt, Ema "Emmy" Hesire hides in a pyramid from her mother, who wants an arranged marriage. Emmy prays to the gods to save her and find her true love in the future. The gods answer her prayers and Emmy suddenly vanishes before her mother's eyes. In 1987, Philadelphia artist Jonathan Switcher takes a number of odd jobs, including one where he assembles a beautiful, perfect mannequin. Although Jonathan painstakingly expresses his artistic passion, his employers dismiss him for taking too much time or deviating from a set pattern. His arrogant girlfriend Roxie Shield, who views Jonathan as a flake, dumps him.

After his motorcycle breaks down in the rain, Jonathan passes the Prince & Company department store and recognizes his perfect mannequin in a display window. He declares that she is the first that made him feel like an artist. The next morning, he saves the owner, Mrs. Claire Timkin, from being killed by a falling sign. Grateful, Claire hires Jonathan, much to the chagrin of manager Mr. Richards, who assigns Jonathan as a stock boy. Jonathan meets flamboyant window dresser Hollywood Montrose, and the two become friends. That night, Hollywood and Jonathan construct a window display starring Jonathan's mannequin.

They have a run-in with the store's extremely inept night security chief, Captain Felix Maxwell. When Jonathan is alone, the mannequin he is obsessed with comes to life as Emmy. Emmy says she has existed for centuries, appearing to various great artists as a muse. She explains that she can only appear to him when they are alone and everyone else sees her as a mannequin.

To the surprise of his detractors, Jonathan's popular window dressing for Prince & Company attracts large audiences. At a board meeting, Richards wants to dismiss Jonathan, ostensibly for showing off with the window displays. In truth, he is actually a corporate agent from the rival department store Illustra. Ignoring Richards, the board members promote Jonathan to visual merchandising.

Jonathan and Emmy's relationship thrives over the following weeks, and he takes her on a date to see the city on the back of his motorcycle. Every night, she helps him to create popular window displays. Impressed with his work, Claire promotes Jonathan to vice president of the department store.

As the window designs are bringing a tremendous number of customers and profits for Prince & Company, Illustra's chief executive, B. J. Wert, attempts to lure away Jonathan from Prince & Company with a job offer from Roxie, who works for him. Jonathan refuses, stating that at Prince & Company, he has people he cares about and who count on him and view his work as important. They realize that Jonathan seems to have a fixation on one of the mannequins and make plans to steal Emmy. After becoming frustrated with Felix's ineptitude and Richards' attitude towards Jonathan, Claire fires them.

Richards and Felix break into the store and search for Emmy. Unable to tell one mannequin from another, they simply steal every female mannequin. The next morning, Hollywood and Jonathan discover Emmy missing. Jonathan immediately suspects Illustra and confronts Wert, who is dismissive. Roxie storms out of the office, swearing that Jonathan will never see Emmy again. Jonathan chases Roxie while being pursued by a dozen security guards. Hollywood bombards the guards with a fire hose as Roxie loads Emmy along with the other mannequins into a trash compactor.

Jonathan jumps onto the loading conveyor belt and grabs Emmy, still frozen as a mannequin. As Jonathan attempts to pull her out, Emmy comes to life and stays human in front of other people for the first time.

Felix and his fellow guards rush in, followed by Wert, who attempts to have Jonathan arrested for trespassing. But Claire arrives, accusing Richards and Felix of breaking and entering, grand theft and kidnapping Emmy, while accusing Wert of conspiracy, displaying evidence from a newly installed video security system in the store. Wert and his cronies are arrested and hauled away and he fires Roxie as he is being dragged out.

Jonathan and Emmy are married in the store window of Prince & Company; Claire is the bridesmaid, and Hollywood is the best man, as well as numerous pedestrians watching them exchange vows.

Stars 

Andrew McCarthy Jonathan Switcher 

Kim Cattrall Ema "Emmy" Hesire 

Estelle Getty Mrs. Claire Timkin 

James Spader Mr. Richards 

G. W. Bailey Captain Felix Maxwell 

Meshach Taylor Hollywood Montrose 

Carole Davis Roxie Shield 

Steve Vinovich B. J. Wert 

Christopher Maher Armand 

Phyllis Newman Emmy's Mother

The idea for the film came when director Michael Gottlieb was walking down Fifth Avenue and thought he saw a mannequin move in the window of Bergdorf Goodman. Others observe the similarities to the plot of the film One Touch of Venus (1948).  The film was made based on the marketing principles of noted Hollywood market researcher Joseph Farrell, who served as an executive producer. The film was specifically designed to appeal to target demographics. Though not a star, McCarthy was cast after tests of his films showed that he strongly appealed to girls, the target audience.

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