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With: Ann Magnuson, John Malkovich, Glenne Headly, Ben Masters, Laurie Metcalf, Polly Bergen, Harsh Nayyar, Hart Bochner, Susan Berman, Polly Draper, Christian Clemenson, Merwin Goldsmith
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Written by: Floyd Byars, Laurie Frank
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Directed by: Susan Seidelman
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MPAA Rating: PG-13
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Running Time: 98
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Date: 04/03/1987
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Robotic Dances
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Director Susan Seidelman followed up her hit Desperately Seeking Susan with this charming romantic comedy. It starts with a silly idea, but it gets under the surface with some genuinely funny and touching human moments. Frankie Stone (Ann Magnuson) is a high-powered P.R. woman, who is hired to promote a new invention. Grumpy scientist Jeff Peters (John Malkovich) has invented a lifelike robot (who looks just like himself) called Ulysses. Ulysses was built to endure the loneliness of space travel. Frankie is hired to promote Ulysses and make him marketable to the money people. He's like a child, with no awareness of what being human is like, and the more time they spend together, the more Ulysses begins to develop feelings for her. The movie could have been a bunch of dumb "mistaken identity" gags, but it plays out in an organic manner, with both Magnuson and Malkovich giving strong performances. (Malkovich's two characters are so separate and seamless that it's easy to forget the same guy is playing both characters.)
In 2023, Kino Lorber released a lovely new Blu-ray, hopefully giving this neglected film a second chance. Seidelman and Magnuson provide a commentary track, and we get interviews with both Magnuson (15 minutes) and Seidelman (16 minutes), as well as trailers for this and other films (Desperately Seeking Susan included). Recommended.
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