John Chard

Looking in your eyes I see a paradise. Mannequin is either a sweet affectionate nostalgia movie – or an empty vacuous experience that fronts the bad side of 1980s American film making? Of all the teen comedies and brat packer pictures that flooded the decade, Mannequin appears to be the one that has no in between fan base, you either love it for what it is, or despise it and everything it stands for. So how do you review something like that? I mean if you have seen it already and are reading this, you don’t need any guidance from me. Your minds are already made up, if you have not seen it and have any interest in the 1980s strand of such fare, then give it a go. It’s hardly an abomination, while for fans of Kim Cattrall and Andrew McCarthy it has to be worth a watch to see them try to cope with such under written lead characters. It’s frothy and cheerful, but yes, devoid of substance, while one stereotype coupled with James Spader’s worst performance hardly help matters these days. Soundtracking is decent enough, led by power pop ballad Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now sung by Starship, while the costuming is garishly period. Not to be taken seriously, obviously, and it has flaws galore, but it does have fans. Who knows, you may become one as well? Or you may want to stick sharp implements in your eyes instead? Roll the dice and take the chance. 5/10