I Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 14, 1987 Seideman's latest is made just 'Right' By Seth Flicker Susan Seidelman is hip. Take for instance her sleeper-of-the-year Desperately Seeking Susan , a story about amnesia, sexual frustration, feminist liberation and a pair of earrings. The plot is so wacked-out that it could of easily been made to go over the viewers' heads. It doesn't, though. With careful script decision, casting and directing, she took a potentially dangerous bridge and made it into a sturdy overpass, but, at the same time, made the audience feel that they just crossed over a dangerous bridge. In other words, Seidelman has the unique ability to make her audience feel as hip as the characters in them; to feel good, not stupid. Her third (the first being Smithereens) and latest feature venture, Making Mr. Right is no exception. It basically has the same themes of Desperately Seeking Susan (sexual frustration and the search for feminist liberation) but the packaging is somewhat different. The story revolves around Frankie Stone (Ann Magnuson), an image consultant who is hired to transform Ulysses (John Malkovich), an android created for the purpose of being shipped off into space for seven years, into a pop-cult figure. To do this, Frankie has to "humanize" Ulysses. Unfortunately Ulysses falls in love with Frankie and, eventually, visa- versa. This is just where the complications start, though. Ulysses, the brain-child of scientific genius Dr. Jeff Peters (Malkovich as well), was created "superior" to humans. For Ulysses to survive in space for seven years, he must be completely void of human emotions but this obviously backfires. Thus, Ulysses is caught in the middle ground of two trains of thought: Jeff's and Frankie's. He is a blank slate and both Frankie and Jeff are trying to fill it with their own ideals and beliefs. They are both trying to make the "ideal man." Jeff's ideal man is himself: cold, calculating and predictable. He believes that emotions are the pitfalls of life and get in the way of carrying on a productive existance. He attempts to inscribe these beliefs into Ulysses but ends up being foiled by Frankie, who, without realizing it, inscribes in Ulysses her own set of rules. Frankie is neck high in emotional drama. Her purple-haired. sister (Susan Berman) is getting married to a bus boy, her best friend Trish (Gleanne Headly) just ran away from her actor-husband, and Frankie, herself, is getting over a relationship with congress - man/client Steve Marcus (Ben Masters). Through these vignettes in her life she has also determined what the ideal man should be and now has the ability to create him with Ulysses. It's not the plot that makes this movie work. It's the characters and the actors that play them. Screenwriters Floyd Byars and Laurie Frank give the actors some very good material to work with. The supporting cast to Magnusan and Malkovich provide a menagerie of wackiness that without, this movie would not exist. To top off the list is Sandy, played by Laurie Medcalf, a lab technician madly in search of a relationship with Jeff. Though all attempts fail with Jeff, Sandy succeeds in providing for the more hilarious scenes of this film. She is loud and tacky. She wears "designer" dresses, shops at "the mall" and seems to pride herself on being an incurable romantic until she ultimately gets fed up. Medcalf fits the role like a glove. Headly is great as Trish, the ditzy-nypho of the film. In her attempts at getting over her husband, she provides Ulysses with his first sexual experience. Among the other memorable characters in this messed-up menagerie are Masters as the egotistical congressman/boyfriend whose campaign slogan is, "It takes a man this sensitive to know your needs," Polly Bergan as Frankie's loud- mouth mom, and Harsh Nayyar as Dr. Ramdas, head of Chemtech (the company that made Ulysses) and "admirer" of Frankie. To top off the cast is Magnuson and Malkovich. It is surprising that Magnuson's largest movie role to date is playing the cigarette girl in Desperately Seeking Susan. She plays the role of Frankie with both biting sarcasm and subtle pathos. Magnuson has the type of looks and mannerisms that seem to glow on screen. She masters a control and understanding of her character that hopefully will open up more doors for her. Malkovich (Eleni, Places in the Heart) makes his comedy debut with this movie. It is not an easy feat playing two such contrasting roles in one picture: the cold Jeff and the warm, sensitive Ulysses. Malkovich does it though and does it convincingly. Overall, Making Mr. Right is one funny movie, but don't expect an Academy Award winner or a cornerstone in filmmaking. If you can go into this movie with just the intention of laughing, then you will. There are a lot of films and filmmakers out there that can preach morality, but there's only a handful, such as Seidelman, that can make you sit back and just laugh. 4 I I Ann Magnuson plays Frankie, an image consultant hired to "humanize" Ulysses. 'Parts' depicts female relationships (Continued from Page 7) A John Malkovick in one of his two very different roles. FOOD Buys WHITE -IM MRKET -E HAAGEN DAZ ICE CREAM 1.79pint 609E. William Hours: M-F 8-7 663-42:3 Sat. 8-6 unheard interlocutor. She begins as the dutiful scatterbrained wife and ends as the feminist avenger, shooting a Peeping Tom, pushing her lewd, wheel-chair-bound brother-in-law down the stairs, and exhausting our patience without enlightening or entertaining us. Boyette does as well as anyone could with these skits, by Franca Rame and Dario Fo, a husband-and- wife team from Italy who are very "in" just now. They will not be, though, once a little age is added to their work, which depend on a trendy theme, rather than memor - able story lines or charaq terizations, for their appeal. This fold-up production is the first by the Michigan Orbit Theatre, a travel - ling company, and is meant to showcase the theatre department's homegrown talent throughout the state. One wonders what audiences will make of it in the outback. Shows are at 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m., Sunday, April 16-19, at the Trueblood Theatre, in the Frieze Building. Tickets are $9, $3 for Michigan Daily Classifieds 764-0557 students with I.D., available at the door, or in advance at the Michigan League. This is it! What you've all been waiting for! The Summer Daily Arts Page Mass Meeting Thursday, April 16th 6:30 It's more than a job. It's Art. E E 810 S. State 747-SPOT 747-7769 M R,- S PQ'T'S FREE DELIVERY PHILADELPHIA STYLE STEAK SANDWICHES FREE FRIES $1.00 OFF With Rwad axd Ub6e CDa811c 41 STEAK SANDWICH or WHOLE HOAGIE _1_ TWO DOZEN OR MORE CHICKEN WINGS --M Breakfast " Full Breakfast " Hot Cereal " Bagels, Danish, Donuts MAKE IT THROUGH EXAMS WITH "THE LITTLE LEAGUE COFFEE SHOP Lunch " Salad Bar " Soup and Chili " Hot-Cold Sandwiches The Universityof Michigan 'ieof Ffianclal Aid FALL & WINTER 1987-88 APPLICATION DEADLINE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 1987 2011 Student Activities Building To ensure priority consideration for financial aid* for the coming school year, continuing students must submit complete application materials by the priority deadline. A complete application con- sists of a 1987-88 Office of Financial Aid application form, the Family Financial Statement report (from ACT), student and parental copies of the 1986 Federal income tax returns, and other docu- I I