Mannequin

"Just because Jonathan's fallen in love with a piece of wood, it doesn't make him a dummy."

1987 1h 29m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 858

ComedyRomanceFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jonathan Switcher, an unemployed artist, finds a job as an assistant window dresser for a department store. When Jonathan happens upon a beautiful mannequin he previously designed, she springs to life and introduces herself as Emmy, an Egyptian under an ancient spell. Despite interference from the store's devious manager, Jonathan and his mannequin fall in love while creating eye-catching window displays to keep the struggling store in business.

“Just because Jonathan's fallen in love with a piece of wood, it doesn't make him a dummy.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Andrew McCarthy
Jonathan Switcher
Kim Cattrall
Ema 'Emmy' Hesire
Estelle Getty
Claire Prince Timkin
James Spader
Mr. Richards
G.W. Bailey
Captain Felix Maxwell
Carole Davis
Roxie Shield
Meshach Taylor
Hollywood
Steve Vinovich
B.J. Wert

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Gottlieb
Writers: Fred Tuch, Edward Rugoff, Michael Gottlieb
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 7.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Mannequin Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Gottlieb, shot by Tim Suhrstedt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Sylvester Levay. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Halsey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall and Estelle Getty carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Gottlieb directs. Tim Suhrstedt behind the camera. Sylvester Levay scores. Richard Halsey cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Made its money back 7.1× over at the box office.
339 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Mannequin Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Michael Gottlieb, shot by Tim Suhrstedt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Sylvester Levay. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Richard Halsey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall and Estelle Getty carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Just because Jonathan's fallen in love with a piece of wood, it doesn't make him a dummy.".
10IMDB entry: tt0093493 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "new love", "mannequin", "department store", "transformation".
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tim Suhrstedt
Original score: Sylvester Levay
Editing: Richard Halsey
Production design: Josan F. Russo
Costume design: Lisa Jensen
Makeup / hair: Richard Arrington
Stunt coordinator: Buddy Joe Hooker
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,000,000
Box office: $42,700,000
Return: 712% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Mannequin (1987)

Part of

Mannequin Collection

Mannequin is a 1987 romantic comedy fantasy film based on the Pygmalion myth, 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. In 1991, a sequel to the film called Mannequin: On the Move was released.

Also by

Michael Gottlieb

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-06-16
★ 5/10
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
r96sk2025-03-09
★ 7/10
<em>'Mannequin'</em> is pure cheese and very silly, but I can't deny it's a nice piece of light entertainment; it's cute, in its own way, too. Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall both fit their respective roles well, so does everyone else on the cast; Meshach Taylor is the standout of the rest. There really isn't much more to say. It's a simple movie and I simply enjoyed it. Oh, and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" is a banger.
CinemaSerf2025-06-14
★ 6/10
After an altercation with a department store sign, the young “Jonathan” (Andrew McCarthy) saves the day and gets himself a job from it’s owner (Estelle Getty). This is much to the chagrin of the shop’s boss “Richards” (James Spader) especially when he starts to make a great impression on the public with his window displays. For that skill, he must thank an ancient Egyptian who has materialised several thousand years after having had a row with her mother in an Edfu temple. She (Kim Cattrall) is a lively and bubbly lass, but she is only animate when they are alone. Otherwise, well she’s the mannequin. What they don’t know is that “Richards” is a duplicitous son-of-gun and is in league with a rival store owner to force them out of business and pick up the place for ten cents on the dollar. Can his window-dressing generate enough new business to save the place before his secret is discovered, or before he is carted off to the asylum for his fetishist behaviour with a life sized plastic doll? McCarthy was probably my favourite of the “Brat Pack” and he brings a cheeky enthusiasm to this rather flat and predicable, almost slapstick, comedy that sees him and Cattrall gel quite amiably. Spader, on the other hand, is just plain terrible and but for a few typically feisty appearances from Getty, so is just about everyone else in this cheesy rom-com. It’s only really memorable for the “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” closing theme from “Starship” and for a scene with some furs in the shop window but that’s about the height of it. The originality and popularity of this genre was very much on the wain by now, and this is probably the most throwaway of all of them, but if you are of a certain age it still raises a nostalgic smile.