![]() This film deserves rediscovery-and if it gets it, there's the added bonus of '80s nostalgia in the fashions and some of the dialogue. The only flaw is not in this film itself, but in the way it was marketed and what I as an audience member expected going into it. After all, they did put out "The Silence of the Lambs", but they also let "Blue Sky" sit on a shelf until they went belly-up and another studio had to release it four years after it was completed. I shouldn't be too hard on Orion, though. Believe it or not, this was the film in which I discovered them both, and they should still be proud of having it on their resumes, even with all they went on to accomplish. ![]() ![]() And it works thanks to John Malkovich's great dual performances and Magnuson's ability to carry a film (the only time she's been allowed to do so before or since-pity). As it is, the film is sweet more than it is funny. As a part of her job, she must get to know the android better, in order to 'humanize' him for the benefit of the project's sponsors in Congress. Laurie Metcalf's dingy character would have to be dismissed or toned down a bit, but otherwise this would work with the same quirky charm that made Mystic Pizza (released the following year) a success. Frankie Stone (Ann Magnuson ) is hired to do public relations for the project. Public relations expert Frankie Stone is assigned to publicizing the robot and teaching the human emotions that will sustain him during his prolonged space mission. Have the actors play it straight as a character study and let the subtle natural comedy shine through. Jeff Peters has been tasked with building a robot for an unmanned space mission. This would have made a great indie(rather than a mainstream release by the fledgling Orion Pictures) with Ann Magnuson still as the star. This is the approach I think the producers should have taken. Jeff Peters and his creation Ulysses, the only sympathetic character in the bunch. OR, if it hadn't been pitched to audiences as a straight comedy, it could have achieved later status over time as a cult film. It's a premise with comic promise, but it sputters like a dying can of mousse. If there were more genuine laugh-out-loud moments in this film, it could have achieved more commercial success.
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