'There's a lot more to love than hot-wiring'
TODAY'S RETRO-REVIEW: 1987's "Cherry 2000," a sci-fi action flick starring a young Melanie Griffith and David Andrews ("A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Apollo 13" and "Fight Club"). Directed by Steve De Jarnatt ("Miracle Mile") and written by Michael Almereyda ("Twister").
THE PLOT: in the year 2017, A yuppie (Andrews) breaks his sex robot and must hire a tracker (Griffith) to help him navigate a Mad Max futuristic wasteland in search of a replacement robot -- the elusive "Cherry 2000." (Not to be confused with 1983's "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone," with Molly Ringwald as the tracker.)
THE MUSIC: The original score was written by Basil Poledouris ("Conan the Barbarian," "Hunt for Red October"). Rumor has it that only 1,500 copies were made of the soundtrack, driving up the price for a single copy to $2,500 on eBay.
MAYBE YOU REMEMBER: The movie features bit cameos by Laurence Fishburne and western-movie legend Ben Johnson.
SURELY YOU CAN'T FORGET: Clad in pastel shirts and checkered pants, the villainous tribe in
"Zone 7" -- led by B-movie god Tim Thomerson ("Trancers," "Iron Eagle") --
dances the Hokey Pokey in celebration after executing trespassers.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID: "Low production values can't dampen the quirky humor and interesting premise of this enjoyable B movie, which re-imagines 'Blade Runner' as a Roger Corman Western."
-- Allmovie.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: Melanie Griffith looks better in this movie than other any of her career. Yeah, including "Body Double" and "Working Girl." And despite the fact that there's almost no nudity -- in a movie called "Cherry 2000"?!? -- it's still sexy B-movie fun.
TOP 5 MEMORABLE LINES FROM CHERRY 2000:
5. "You can just go s--t in your hat."
4. "You get one of these fired up, it's like slamming an octopus."
3. "There's a lot more to love than hot-wiring."
2, "Romance? We are talking about with a robot, right?"
1. "They got that damn plane working ... go get the macaroni and cheese!"
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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I know I've seen this movie once. I think it was on a 12 inch screen in my first apartment. I was getting Cinemax for free during a trial subscription. Late night. Oy.
Posted by: Marissa | May 09, 2008 at 08:30 AM
I have somehow missed this one. Is it worth hunting down?
She's Blond, Beautiful and Forever Young.
Posted by: 80sfan | May 09, 2008 at 09:20 AM
Dare I say, a classic!
I borrowed this from my friend, thinking that I was borrowing something else. I was not disappointed. Great movie!
Posted by: Joe in Austin | May 09, 2008 at 09:26 AM
It's very much a B-movie. Rent it if you have Netflix, but buying it would be a critical error.
Posted by: Spears | May 09, 2008 at 09:47 AM
I've just added it to my blockbuster queue along with about half a dozen Robert Downey Jr. flicks.
Posted by: 80sfan | May 10, 2008 at 07:03 PM
Don't hate me if you don't like it. Remember, aside from maybe "Making the Grade," I'll watch any 80s movie start to finish and enjoy it.
Especially ones about futuristic sex robots and the hokey pokey.
Posted by: Spears | May 10, 2008 at 07:58 PM
Making the Grade is currently in my queue as well. It's been a long time since I have seen that movie but I remember liking it, at least back then.
Steve, did you ever get around to watching Midnight Madness?
Posted by: 80sfan | May 10, 2008 at 08:24 PM
Would you believe this movie is on Comcast On Demand? So, I'm spending the afternoon in craptastic movie land. Happy Mother's Day to me! ha
Posted by: Marissa | May 11, 2008 at 04:37 PM