Of Mannequins and Men

March 14, 2011

The hit film Mannequin from 1987 was nominated for only one Oscar, best original song. Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship ended up losing to Dirty Dancing’s (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life, but there are still plenty of other reasons to love Mannequin. Firstly, there’s the always spunky Estelle Getty as the department store owner Mrs. Timkin. She gives Jonathan Switcher, played by Andrew McCarthy, a job at her department store after he saves her life. One can only wonder if this part helped Andrew McCarthy land the role of Larry Wilson in Weekend at Bernie’s. Meshach Taylor of Designing Women is amusing as Jonathan’s flamboyant coworker, Hollywood Montrose. G. W. Bailey, who plays Lt. Harris from the Police Academy movies, plays security guard Felix Maxwell.  His dogs, Rambo and Terminator, are scene stealers. The duplicitous Mr. Richards, a very geeky looking James Spader, is trying to get Mrs. Timkin to sell her store.  And of course, there’s Kim Cattrall as the mannequin. If you’ve never seen it before, check out this cult classic film.

Sandra P.
Blue Springs North Branch