Making Mr. Right (1987)

Making Mr. Right is Weird Science meets What Women Want (with a bit of Being John Malkovich). Because this movie turns the science-geek-builds-perfect-woman conceit on its ear by aiming to please women with an artificial man, Making Mr. Right sounded to me like a fluffy dollop of pseudoscientific frivolity -- and it is. Usually, however, in such movies, the science geek (whether nerdy student or dweebish engineer) is a male who constructs a female android for (shall we say) romantic purposes. By contrast, in Making Mr. Right, the scientist (John Malkovich) creates a male andoid in his own image (also played by Malkovich) for scientific purposes but is told by a marketing consultant (Ann Magnuson) that the android must learn to interface with and appeal to women to be accepted by society. The scientist complains about mucking up the android's programming with social niceties and male-female interactions, but the fact is, the android proves to be a more willing student of the human condition than his human creator. Lots of hijinks ensue as (a) the android, (b) the marketing consultant, (c) her soon-to-be-wed sister (who has a successful tete-a-tete with the android), (d) an off-kilter female co-worker who is infatuated with the scientist (but has a disappointing date with the android she thinks is the scientist), and (e) the male lead in a cheesy soap opera called Jersey, all cross signals, fists, and lips. It's a consistently entertaining riff on the theme, though only mildly so. Neither of Malkovich's two roles require social sophistication deeper than a pie plate and every woman save Magnuson is a caricature. She is the central and most interesting character in the movie. As a bossy but flighty marketing expert, she's eminently fun to watch, no matter what she's doing. I think the problem is the script never rises above a certain level; it never commands interest, just fumbles through (like the klutzy android who even shambles ineptly). I enjoyed the whole show, but couldn't say I greatly enjoyed it (like Weird Science or Date Night). In fact, The Hangover wins a MacArthur grant, compared to Making Mr. Right. In the end, I'm glad I watched it, and I hope you will (mostly) feel the same. Enjoy! 3.5 stars. (11-10-2010, posted 3-28-2016)