User Reviews

After he is seen with a beauty queen, Florida advertising executive Ann Magnusson (as Frankie Stone) drops "not hard enough" politician boyfriend Ben Masters (as Steve Marcus) from her roster. Next, she accepts a pitch from the local "Chemtec" organization; in danger of losing their government funding, the company wants Ms. Magnusson to work on public relations. She meets the company's chief calling card, an anatomically correct blond android named "Ulysses" (played by John Malkovich). He's the spitting image of creator "Jeff Peters" (Mr. Malkovich again).

His "Dr. Frankenstein" wants "Ulysses" to be a spaceman, but the android gets lovesick for Magnusson, and wants to remain on Earth. This dilemma makes you wonder why they didn't leave a trio of parts off the manly Malkovich; probably, it was due to his creator not being very "good with people." It all works out just fine in the end. The cast is fun, if not always funny. And some of the supporting characters are cast aside by a quick ending. Still, Malkovich makes a great date; especially, watch for his hilarious encounter with Laurie Metcalf (as Sandy) at the mall.

****** Making Mr. Right (4/3/87) Susan Seidelman ~ John Malkovich, Ann Magnuson, Ben Masters, Glenne Headly

The two stars of the film are John Malkovich and Ann Magnuson. John Malkovich is now renowned as a consummate actor, and in this film he has a tour de force in a dual role playing Dr. Jeff Peters, an all-serious engineer/scientist and the look-alike android he created for a one-person multi-year deep space mission which the characters believe would be too lonely for a human to endure.

Unfortunately, Ann Magnuson did not enjoy similar success as a film actress following this part. I found that surprising because she was truly excellent as Frankie Stone, a respected publicist hired to convince the government to provide funds for continuation of Dr. Peters' deep space project. Frankie's approach is to make the android (named Ulysses) more engaging and interesting to the general public during interviews. That is, to make it more human-like. Magnuson, a red-head, was around 30 years old when the film was made, and I thought at times that I was watching a 30 year old Shirley MacLaine.

The style of the film as a whole seemed to me to belong to an earlier time in the film industry, more like 1950s era romantic comedies. I checked to see if the film had been made earlier and not released until 1987, but found nothing to indicate that. Perhaps I'm just not remembering that time period accurately.

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.

This is a fantastic film, it really is. The director took a risk in casting a relatively unknown actress (Magnuson) in a lead role, but that risk paid off - she turned in a faultless, feisty performance, and I really believed that she was a top notch confidant businesswoman whose love life was a mess. John Malkovich is equally good, and it is so nice to see him cast against type and doing comedy for a change - and two roles to boot - which he manages very well. A far cry from "Dangerous Liaisons", Malkovich works hard to give the android depth and character, when Ulysses could have easily become so two-dimensional. Instead we have the pleasure of watching him grow and gradually develop the emotions and human characteristics that we take for granted, so that if you rewind and watch how Ulysses was at the beginning, he will seem completely different. Equally, Dr Peters, though arrogant and dispassionate, does evoke some sympathy and compassion with the audience. In an ironic turn, watch how machinelike Jeff seems in comparison to Ulysses towards the end, you will be surprised!

Brilliant! The scene at the wedding when Ulysses tells Frankie he loves her was perfect and particularly moving.

The premise and screenplay had rich potential, but the movie failed on release and this is the picture that prematurely deep-sixed Anne Magnuson's movie star career, and she got the blame, but the one who's really miscast is John Malkovitch. It should have been Jeff Bridges or similar, but as good as he is in offbeat roles, Malkovitch is totally wrong here, and it sinks the movie. There's no chemistry between him and Magnuson, who is a more intellectual actress than the part required. But that's not her fault- it could have been played more Katherine Hepburn, less ditz. Plus Susan Seidelman lacked comedy timing and a lot of the jokes just lay there. A missed opportunity.

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.

This film is about what happens when a chemical company hires a PR woman to program their Android when they are worried about losing funding for a deep space program. Right. Ok, as far as I was concerned with a plot like that it was doomed from the start. But I was surprised. It is a measure of the John Malkovich's ability that when he was on the screen, even this movie lost some of its inane quality and actually had a few good moments. This is far from being a good movie but Malkovich does make it almost watchable.

Also, there is also enough late 80's technology present in this film that its interesting from a pop history perspective. Seeing folks at the wedding lugging around a camcorder that's larger than my current VCR brought back memories. Also our heroine lugs an old-fashioned Filo-Fax everywhere. Remember those big wheels that held paper cards with contact data?

Making Mr. Right is one of director Susan Seidleman's funniest movies, perhaps even funnier than Desperately Seeking Susan. Plus, I love Seidleman's style, with such goofy situations always set in beautiful atmospheres with bright, art deco settings and neo/retro (60s with an 80s modification) wardrobe for both female and male characters. They were part of what made her movies so interesting.

Once again, Seidleman has directed another great romantic comedy with a terrific cast. Ann Magnuson is Frankie Stone, a woman who works in high class advertising. She has taken on a new project to help find the proper advertising angle for a new creation that is going to change the future--an android named Ullyseus (Malkovich), designed by a seriously detached scientist named Jeff Peters (also Malkovich). A scientist and an identical, eager android is already destined for great laughs as the situations lead to a few wild misunderstandings.

To Peter's dismay, Stone's quality time with Ullyseus (so she can figure out a successful advertising campaign) starts to make the android more human. And, ironically, he gains more human emotion than his identical creator, Jeff Peters, who gradually sinks into something more like an emotionless, android state. But Ullyseus wants to know what true love is all about (and Stone wants to know if such a thing is even possible).

It is a sweet movie, as Seidleman's movie often are, mostly because all the actors (and their respective characters) work so well together. In particular, this is a great demonstration of Malkovich's talents. It is one of the few comedies I have seen him in. And, it's fantastic to seem his try to act like an android acting like a human. Also, Laurie Metcalf (who was in Desperately Seeking Susan), as usual, is one of the funniest characters in the whole movie (just wait till you watch the scene with her and Ullyseus at the mall). It is a great romantic comedy, and one that I think 80s fans are sure to enjoy. Plus, Chaz Jenkel (who did some of the music for 'Real Genius') adds some great synthesizer/bongo drums music for this movie.

A long time ago, I saw Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), also directed by Susan Seidelman and I thought that film and story were quite good, and very well produced.

I don't think the same about this effort, despite the presence of John Malkovich who gives an adequate performance in a dual role. The supporting cast is also quite good, particularly Laurie Metcalf, whom I recall most from her days on the TV sitcom Roseanne. The story material, however, leaves much to be desired...

The problem with the narrative is that, try as I might, I really didn't care about any of the characters. Their vacuous lives amidst the glitz of Miami was a tad overdone, I thought, leaving absolutely no room for any empathy. Instead of being funny, it devolves into campy crassness, which, I grant you is part of that whole scene, way down there in orange juice land.

However, instead of trying to overcome that, the story instead uses the presence of an android, named Ulysses, who looks like Malkovich (who must go on a long journey of seven years – yikes, shades of the Odyssey!) – to act as a metaphor for that same vacuity: empty, soulless, without feeling, without hope...

And then proceeds to show how even such an empty shell can indeed learn to love and live as we all should. Excuse me? I don't mind suspension of disbelief to carry me through some preposterous narratives, but even science fiction (not science fantasy) must obey the laws and limitations of physics, neuroscience and computer software. This story blithely ignores all such precepts and merely succeeds in making itself look and sound ridiculous.

And the ending? Just absurd – absolutely, totally, irrevocably absurd.

If you really want to waste 98 minutes of your life, then go ahead and make yourself pay. I had to, in order to do this review, so how do you think I feel now?

7 April 2010. This likable android becomes more human sci fi scenario offers Malkovich an opportunity to act multi-dimensionally as well as provide both comedic and some endearing emotional tenderness. Never completely over the top, this somewhat predictable storyline is pretty basic but with a snappy soundtrack and decent script, the pacing and editing, continuity make for an entertaining, fun, and feel-good experience. The movie while never probing into any depth, does offer some reflection on humanity and love. There are a few plot points that don't seem to have resolution (like Frankie Stone's sister's ultimate disposition), an abrupt cut away from Frankie Stone's climatic embarrassment as well as somewhat of a under-developed segment on the androids coming out. Overall, though this is decent, above average sci fi comedy with a heart (Wizard of Oz style and all).

John Malkovich stars in Making Mr right as a scientist who makes a robotic version of himself to be used in a space mission. The company he is working for hires a women to teach the robot about emotions. But she falls in love with the robot. I don't have much to say about John Malkovich who gets the job done as usual. For some reason, this film didn't make me laugh in the parts I was supposed to. Ann Magnuson is not really convincing for her part. Okay, this is not supposed to be a serious film but again with the material we are talking about, a much better movie could have been done. She looks more like the wife of the senator who spends all her day shopping and changing hairstyle. There are some moments of the film you can smile but that's all. By the way nobody buys this robot's way of learning to impress a woman. Even a real person can't make it right with only one go. I think we are shown only the surface of the film, but in a romantic comedy audience expect to see a bit of deepness too. This is a big miss in Making Mr Right. * out of *****

As a tremendous fan of movies, I have yet to see many directed by women. Rarely are they publicized, and rarely are they seen, for many reasons. This movie, Making Mr. Right, is one of the great films of the late twentieth century.

It is a film fraught with ironies and humor, and told from the perspective of a busy working woman, who is in the midst of making her life and keeping up relationships. Her life is changed when she is forced to train an android to learn some people skills.

The movie brings up all kinds of social questions – it feels largely told from a anthropologist's view – a perspective that is completely devoid of the subject at work. This is certainly very interesting, and becomes very engaging when it is forced to look at the way people interact and why.

There are the obvious questions – like can machines think? These conspicuous ones are less interesting to the audience since they are an old hat, something already presented to us by science fiction writers of the 60s and 70s.

The cinematography or other technical elements are nothing to rave about. You don't watch it for the special effects, obviously. John Malkovich puts on a startling real act of a machine, as well as the maddened scientist who cannot interact with the real world.

RATING: 8/10

"One day, when people have figured that out (the problems of love), then they will be more than just machines"

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 :.

A sweet romantic comedy, that has an interesting twist. A image consultant named Frankie Stone(Ann Magnuson) who just dumped her philandering congressman boyfriend(Ben Masters). Is asked to help an android named Ulysses(John Malkovich), to help polish his social graces, before he is unvaled to the public. Much of the dismay of his of his creator Dr. Jeff Peters(Also John Malkovich). A good romantic comedy of it's time. Ann Magnuson is great. John Malkovich is terrific in duel roles has the sweet and sincere android Ulysses, and has the uptight and cynical Dr. Jeff Peters. A great movie to rent for your date.

I saw this on TV 2 nights ago as I never seen it before and I thought it was a bit stupid. The film is about a woman who falls in love with an android who is like the creator that made him. The android of course has human charctheristics and falls for the woman also leaving their relationship at jeopardy.

The story is a bit dull as its weird having a woman falling for an android I mean COME ON how is she suppose to be with someone who isn't real. It just doesn't make sense.

The ending was a bit of a letdown and the music was OK I guess.

Im giving this a 4/10 because I didn't really like it.

This quirky, modest sci-fi comedy doesn't have much narrative thrust, but it does have two atypically amusing John Malkovich performances (as an android who falls in love with a human, and as the scientist who created him in his exact image), and some colorful characters on the periphery of the frame (my personal favorite: Laurie Metcalf as Sandy). No fireworks, but agreeable enough. **1/2 out of 4.

Being John Malkovich wouldn't be too bad, if it weren't for Making Mr. Right.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for silly movies involving Malkovich and defective robot clones but only as long as they reach guilty pleasure heights. Parts of Making Mr Right definitely qualify. Take the scene where the android's butt ends up on his belly button: great but oh so short. Unfortunately, the film just doesn't live up to its pleasantly absurd premise.

Too much time is spent with Ann Magnuson's Frankie as she's putting on make-up/going to meetings/driving around when we were promised early on an android with awesome super powers. Needless to say that once Malkovich's robotic man-child finally leaves the lab to face the real world, nothing particularly exciting happens. We get to see him hang around a mall, buy a suit and get together with some side character off-camera.

The film builds up to a wedding, which doesn't feel important to the plot in the slightest. Who is getting married you ask? One of Frankie's friends we only met once very briefly. Great. Imagine having John Malkovich in your robot double movie and THIS is what the film decides to focus on. Granted, there's a space shuttle at one point but stock footage doesn't count.

Malkovich is great and seeing him with so much hair is a near religious experience. He plays dual parts effortlessly and takes the opportunity to practice for his part in Of Mice And Men. His characters are shamefully misused, however, as the film settles for watered-down rom-com clichés rather than Inspector Gadget-style man-bot hijinks.

That Making Mr. Right is THIS forgotten of a movie makes a lot of sense seeing as it's a thoroughly forgettable film. The dire storyline is fatally uninspired, it takes way too long for anything to happen and when it finally does it's just not what it needed to be. On the plus side, there are a few genuinely fun moments and the film is definitely watchable.

Odd movie to exist but ok.

Malkovich.. one of my favorites! He's jeff peters, scientist for chemtec, who has invented a robot who can do anything man can do. And frankie (magnuson) is hired to give the robot lessons on human emotions. But jeff doesn't approve when the robot shows more emotions than he does himself. Keep an eye out for laurie metcalf (roseanne).. .she's jeff's girlfriend. Sort of. A farce. A fight at a wedding. The big ending was so predictable. Directed by susan seidelman. Izzokay. Malky was married to the actress playing trish (glenne headly). And he currently has THIRTEEN film projects in production. Holy gaucamole.

Ann Magnuson is a Miami publicity specialist called in to spearhead the ballyhoo about Ulysses, an android developed by scientist John Malkovich. Ulysses looks exactly like Malkovich. He has been developed to go on a seven-year space mission. As the movie progresses, Ulysses falls in love with Miss Magnuson, which annoys the 'real' Malkovich.... and increasingly confuses Miss Magnuson.

It's a rather cerebral comedy about the human condition, with Malkovich playing...well, the John Malkovich character; he's much more relatable as the android than as the human. There are few outright laughs in this cerebral comedy comedy about the difficulties of human relations, in which the women are mostly looking for love, and the men have mostly given up on it except as an adjunct to ambition... save for the child-like Ulysses.

Director Susan Seidelman uses a bunch of performers from the Steppenwolf Theater company, and shoots Miami to show off its gem-like visual beauty and its shlubby people. However, after a brilliant opening sequence of Miss Magnuson driving to work, putting on her make-up, it settles down into a picture of disconnected people that left me feeling more sad than amused.

An bright, smart, beautiful woman named Frankie Stone (Ann Magnuson) is public relations executive. She been hired by a huge technology company to "humanaize" their latest work. An dorky, curious, android named Ulysses (John Malkovich). Which Ulysses is been trained to be an astronaut. Ulysses is the likeness of a cold-hearted scientist named Jeff Peters (Also played by Malkovich). At first, Frankie finds her latest assignment to be truly strange. As she gets to know Ulysses much better than Peters, she slowly falls in love with Ulysses! Ulysses starting to be more curious about the human life than being an astronaut. Which Peters is absolutely furious, since it taken him years to train Ulysses and drives him crazy that Ulysses only wants to know about love!

Directed by Susan Seidelman (Cookie, Desperately Seeking Susan, She-Devil) made an amusing romantic comedy with superb comic performances by Malkovich and Magnuson. "Making Mr. Right" was an flop, when it was released in 1987. But the movie did went on to have an loyal cult following. It is fun to watch Malkovich in a charming, extremely funny and touching role. Which it is rare for Malkovich. Magnuson is certainly an knockout in her role. Glenne Headly does have some very amusing moments as Stone's best friend and Laurie Metcalf does have some good moments as the annoying woman in Peters' life.

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer (also in Pan & Scan) and an good Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD's only feature is the original theatrical trailer. In a way, "Making Mr. Right" is a odd romantic comedy with some original effective moments that makes this movie unique. The movie has an great if unusual ending as well. Die-fans of Malkovich certainly should check the movie out. Great use of "The Turtles" song titled "Happy Together" at the end. "Making Mr. Right" is certainly an curio. (****/*****).

For a company with its finger in so many pies, including space exploration, Penetrode had an alarming lack of security. People just seem to breeze in through the front door like they're going shopping at Macy's. And then they let - what is she again, the PR expert? - loose on a Frankenstein project when she should probably just making appearances on Coast to Coast with Art Bell. Not messing around with something that will likely change the power balance of the whole globe. And then he escapes practically under the nose of the Pontiac Fiero-driving CEO. Malkovich does well goofing around in a dual role. But once Susan Berman showed up as the hairy-armpitted sister I was immediately reminded how much I enjoyed her in Smithereens, and I wanted to see more of her and a LOT less of the main character and her interactions with Malkovich's two characters. I mean, how many times can I be expected to watch a mediocre redhead put on lipstick? This is part fish-out-of-water, part rom-com, and all unfunny.

the movie was far ahead of its time. i just got to watch this film recently in wowow -- a japanese cable channel available here in the philippines -- and as i was watching the film, i thought that the movie was made in 1999 or later. i was very surprised to find in the credits that the film had a copyright year of 1987. amazing!

i think that most of the themes of the movie: love, sex, finding the right person, being a loner, were tackled in a timeless manner, such that they are still applicable now as they were 14 years ago.

all in all, a great movie. definitely, a must see!