Mannequin: On the Move (1991) 20th Century Fox/Comedy RT: 95 minutes Rated PG (language, slapstick violence, mild sexual content) Director: Stewart Raffill Screenplay: Edward Rugoff, David Isaacs, Ken Levine and Betsy Israel Music: David McHugh Cinematography: Larry Pizer Release date: May 17, 1991 (US) Starring: Kristy Swanson, William Ragsdale, Meshach Taylor, Terry Kiser, Stuart Pankin, Cynthia Harris, Andrew Hill Newman, Julie Foreman, John Edmondson, Phil Latella, Mark Gray, Erick Weiss, Jackye Roberts. Box Office: $3.7M (US)
Rating: ** ½
In trying to come up with an opening for my review of Mannequin: On the Move, the sequel to the delightful 1987 romantic comedy, I learned two very interesting things. First, director Stewart Raffill is the same guy who directed The Adventures of the Wilderness Family, Across the Great Divide and The Sea Gypsies. I haven’t thought about these movies for many years, but I remember seeing them as a child in the 70s. Raffill would go on to direct Mac and Me (1988), the cheesy sci-fi family movie co-starring McDonald’s spokesclown Ronald McDonald in his only acting credit to date.
The other thing I discovered involves co-star Andrew Hill who plays a bumbling security guard. Remember the end of the first movie? Remember the compactor room janitor who jumps into the pile of trash looking for a mannequin of his own? Same actor! I’m now wondering if that janitor somehow got a promotion to security guard. As it stands, the only character to return from the first movie is flamboyant window dresser Hollywood Montrose (Taylor).
Oh, listen to me ramble on. I’m supposed to be telling you what I think of Mannequin: On the Move. Sequels are rarely as good as the original and it’s certainly true in this case. But it’s not all that bad either. It’s actually kind of cute and charming in a cheesy sort of way. It’s the sort of movie that will appeal more to children with its broad characters, silly storyline and slapstick humor.
It’s funny that I’m giving Mannequin: On the Move a semi-positive review seeing as though I didn’t like it the first time I saw it. I’m one of the few people who saw it at the movies; its wimpy $3.7M box office take tells me not many people did. I felt as though it was a very pale imitation of the original. I put it on for my wife this past weekend and found, much to my shock, that I actually enjoyed it this time around.
Our story begins in 991 A.D. with young Prince William (Ragsdale, Fright Night) of Hauptmann-Koenig in love with beautiful peasant girl Jessie (Swanson, Deadly Friend). His mother the queen (Harris, Three Men and a Baby) doesn’t approve and has an evil sorcerer (Kiser, Weekend at Bernie’s) take care of it. He turns her into a mannequin by way of a cursed necklace for 1000 years until she receives a kiss from her true love from another land. He’s the only one that can remove the necklace and bring her back to life.
Flash forward to 1991 where Hauptmann-Koenig has fallen on hard times. It’s been raining for the past 1000 years. Jessie, now known as the Enchanted Peasant Girl, has been sent to Philadelphia where she will be the featured mannequin in a window display at the Prince & Company department store. Count Gunther Spretzle (Kiser), the reincarnation of the evil sorcerer, wants Jessie for himself and has his three incompetent goons keep an eye on her.
Her arrival coincides with Jason Williamson’s (Ragsdale) first day as Hollywood’s new assistant. That night, he removes Jessie’s necklace and she comes to life. After the initial shock wears off, he takes her out for a night on the town as a way of showing her all the wonderful changes over the past 1000 years. Of course, Count Spretzle isn’t going down without a fight. Not only does he want the girl, he also plans to abscond with all the money made from the sale of the valuable antique necklace. Jason isn’t giving up either; he’s a man in love and nothing’s gonna stop him now (or ever!).
There’s no denying Mannequin: On the Movie is a silly movie. It’s what I would call a fractured fairy tale with its reliance on broad slapstick humor and goofball characters. Take the Count, he may be a baddie, but he’s also a moron. Kiser overplays it beyond the point of high camp. It’s some instances, this would be considered an embarrassing performance, but here it’s a perfect fit with the rest of the silliness. I do have to say that Swanson makes a perfectly enchanting romantic lead. I’ve liked ever since her brief appearance in the quintessential 80s teen comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. She and Ragsdale make a charming couple even though he’s not that strong an actor. Taylor, once again, is hilarious as the hippest gay window dresser in the City of Brotherly Love. He camps it up without making his character offensive.
The word offensive shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as Mannequin: On the Move, one of the most harmless movies ever made. Stuart Pankin (The Hollywood Knights, Second Sight) shows up as the pompous new store manager (taking over for Estelle Getty) with two flunkies who write down every single word he says. Talk about an obvious ego booster! There’s also a WAY underdeveloped subplot about the security guard’s unrequited crush on the girl (Foreman) at the perfume counter. He may not know a lot about wooing women, but he wields a mean can of hairspray (he flunked his mace test).
For me, the real highlight of Mannequin: On the Move is the Philadelphia locations. Yep, my neck of the woods! There’s a nice sequence on South Street that reminds me of how it used to be back in the day. Once again, the department store scenes were filmed in the old John Wanamaker building (now a Lord & Taylor). The best thing I can say about Mannequin: On the Move is that it’s a cute little movie. There’s really not much more to it than that. It’s a good first date movie for the middle school crowd. It’s not a great movie, but it’s just so nice you can’t say anything bad about it.
