Making Mr Right

Seidelman's follow-up to Desperately Seeking Susan is a stylish, offbeat romantic comedy but lacks its predecessor's loopy charm. When PR consultant Frankie (Magnuson) is hired to create a human image for the Chemtech Corporation's latest android, Ulysses, she doesn't reckon on him losing his head over her, and vice versa, and ends up clashing with the android's maker, Dr Peters, who fears that Ulysses' exposure to love's irrationality will jeopardise his forthcoming space mission. Seidelman handles the romance with great sensitivity, contrasting Ulysses' innocent, non-manipulative affection with the self-centred immaturity of Frankie's senator boyfriend. Crucial weaknesses, however, are the miscasting of Malkovich as both Peters and Ulysses (he lacks charisma as the romantic lead), and the numerous distracting subplots. The flat, garish photography conjures up the shiny-clean future of '50s sci-fi movies, but the film's magpie borrowings are poorly integrated, resulting in inconsistencies of tone and pacing. Much to enjoy, though, not least the audaciously happy ending.