SCREENnMaking Lovenby Katherine DaltonnMaking Mr. Right; directed bynSusan Seidelman; written by FloydnByars and Laurie Frank; Orion Pictures.nPerhaps it’s living in New York thatnmakes me Hke Making Mr. Right.nSusan Seidelman’s latest (she did DesperatelynSeeking Susan with Madonna,nremember) is just one step up fromnfarce: a lighthearted comedy of mannersnand sexual politics. As in many ofnthe best Restoration comedies it doesnnot otherwise resemble, the men arenbuffoons. In other words, it’s a movienfrom a decidedly feminine point ofnview. It is actually unusual in being anmovie for the Cosmo reader — thenyoung, single, urban, double Y’s.nWhat was the last movie targeted sonspecifically at a female audience? ThenTurning Point? Desert Hearts?nYes, all women know that millionsnof men are responsible citizens, lovingnfathers, husbands, and friends. Allnwomen also know that millions arennot. As a young, urban, unattachednfemale (if not quite a Cosmo reader), Infind it easy to understand why men arenthe primary target in a movie that, tonbe fair, also lampoons Jews, Indians,nMiami Cubans, the PR business,nsoaps, weddings, and several very distinctntypes of females. Perhaps all thenman-bashing has only to do with thenexigencies of plot. As the title suggests,nour heroine, Frankie Stone, falls innlove with an android, and a woman isnnot likely to fall for an android, unlessnshe has been burned thrice too manynVITAL SIGNSntimes by the real thing.nAs the movie opens we see Frankien(Ann Magnuson, the performance artist,nplays it straight here) waking up onnthe couch where she has fallen asleepnin front of the TV. She’s been waitingnfor Congressman Steve Marcus (BennMasters), who has spent the entirennight at the Little Miss Havana beautynpageant, hugging the contestants andndrumming up votes for what he hopesnwill be his reelection. Understandably,nhis early-morning arrival with a stolenncenterpiece for a forgive-me-darlingnbouquet doesn’t quite cut the mustard.nFrankie wants it to be easy come,neasy go, but it isn’t. Since she’s not justnhis girlfriend but also his image consultant,nshe can afford the satisfactionnof not only slamming the door in hisnface but also of dropping him as anclient and sending out the final bill.nNevertheless, however distracting hernjob and red convertible, she cannotnescape the daily pressures from Mom,nSis, friends, and the biological clock tonfind Mr. Right, or at least Mr. Tolerable.nNot that anybody else in thenMarcus cheering section has beennblessedly happy. Mom threw Dad thenlout out; Frankie’s friend Trish hasnbeen dumped by her soap star husbandnfor Susan Anton; only Frankie’s greenhairednsister seems content—and she’snmarrying a Miami Cuban busboy.nStill, none of them can understandnhow Frankie could let Steve slipnthrough her fingers. After all, saysnTrish, whatever his faults or shortcomings,n”he earns his own keep,” andnthat can’t be said of all of them.nAfter dropping Steve as a client,nFrankie has time on her hands, andnshe finds herself asked to representnthe Chemtech Corporation’s latestninvention — a remarkably humanlookingnandroid named Ulysses (JohnnnnMalkovich). She is to polish up hisnsocial graces and get him on the JohnnynCarson show, but it gets morencomplicated than that. For unpolishednor not and made (as he is) in the imagenof his snide creator. Dr. Jeff Petersn(also played by Malkovich), Ulyssesnhas all the charm his parent lacks. Henpromptly falls in love with Frankie.nIt’s a predictable plot. Seidelman isnprobably never going to make hernname as one of Hollywood’s greatninnovators. But while there are nonlarge artistic leaps in this production, angreat deal of attention has been paid tondetail. The script is tight; it has nonlarge holes in its logic, once you acceptnthe fact that an android can looknand act human, and we’ve suspendednthat much belief for a thousand othernmovies. The “60’s retro” look Seidelmanncreated, carried through fromnFrankie’s headscarf and red convertiblento the music, makes the movie nicelynstylized and centered in a specificnplace, Miami, rather than (as is usuallynthe case) floundering around innwhat could be any 80’s town in anynstate in the union.nThere are several excellent performances.nSeidelman has raided Chicago’snSteppenwolf Theatre not only forna very good hero/nerd in Malkovich,nbut for two superb supporting actressesnas well. Glenne Headly as baby-voicednTrish on the rebound is wonderful,nand Laurie Metcalf as Sandy is evennbetter. Metcalf is so compact and determinednand pushily desperate to getnthe misanthropic Jeff Peters out on andate as to be both moving and irritatingnat the same time—a difficult combination.nAll of them show up Magnuson,nwho, while never actively bad,nis never actively good, either.nAs a movie, Making Mr. Right is anforeseeable product of what is still thenAUGUST 1987 / 39n