Film

Cherry 2000

Name: Cherry 2000
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 1987
Cast: Melanie Griffith, David Andrews, Pamela Gidley, Ben Johnson, Marshall Bell

A 1987 romp about a businessman who hires a tough tracker to retrieve his malfunctioning android wife in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. It's earnest sci-fi adventure dressed up as romantic comedy, cheerfully unconcerned with its own absurdity. For anyone who loves practical effects, Melanie Griffith's commitment to cool, and stories that know exactly what they are.

TMDb rating

3.0

If you liked this

Romancing the Stone1984

A woman journalist and a cynical mercenary trek through jungle danger toward impossible treasure. Same DNA as Cherry 2000: adventure as foreplay, witty banter under fire, a love story that earns itself through chaos rather than sentiment.

But It's a '80s action-romance, which means it moves at a pace some will find breezy rather than gripping. The feminism is period-appropriate, not contemporary.

Weird Science1985

Two nerds accidentally create a woman using a computer. It's absurd, frequently hilarious, and committed entirely to the logic of its own fever dream. That's Cherry 2000's exact spirit—gleeful sci-fi nonsense played straight.

But John Hughes comedy from 1985. If the gender politics of that era make you wince, they will here. Some sequences haven't aged.

Innerspace1987

A spy gets miniaturized into a man's body. Joe Dante directing, Dennis Quaid and Martin Short in perfect sync. It has Cherry 2000's exact tone: bright, energetic sci-fi adventure that loves its own ridiculous premise without winking at the camera.

But Relies heavily on '80s visual effects that are now plainly visible as effects. If you need realism, this isn't your film.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Cherry 2000

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Liquid Sky1982

Both are '80s science fiction films obsessed with the intersection of sex, technology, and what desire means when bodies can be manufactured or controlled.

A stylish, avant-garde sci-fi film about an invisible alien that feeds on human sexual pleasure in 1980s Manhattan. Shot on Super 8, synthesizer score, deliberately weird and erotic. It's sci-fi as art film, exploring the same android-desire territory from a completely different angle.

But Experimental cinema from 1982 with a deliberately artificial aesthetic, deadpan performances, and zero conventional plot. It's challenging and strange. Some will find it pretentious or inaccessible.

Johnny Mnemonic1995

Keanu Reeves as a data courier in a neon-soaked future. Cyberpunk adventure that doesn't care if its plot is silly; it just wants you to have fun in the world it's built. That's Cherry 2000's philosophy applied to a different decade.

But It's campy and knowingly so. If you prefer your sci-fi solemn and grounded, this will feel like a cartoon.

Big Trouble in Little China1986

Kurt Russell in a supernatural action-comedy where he's not the hero—he's the sidekick who thinks he is. Pure adventure energy, practical stunts, unapologetic about being fun. Directed by John Carpenter at peak entertainment.

But The tone pivots wildly between comedy and kung-fu action. Some scenes are violent, others silly. Tonal whiplash is the point, but not everyone loves it.

Escape from New York1981

A gritty, neon-soaked future where Manhattan is a prison island. Kurt Russell as the ultimate cool loner. It's sci-fi adventure that takes its world seriously even as it embraces pulp energy. Cherry 2000's tougher older cousin.

But Made in 1981; it's deliberately grungy and low-budget in ways that feel more dated than slick. The pacing is deliberate, not breathless.

The Hidden1987

A cop and an alien agent team up to hunt a shapeshifting parasite. Body horror meets buddy cop comedy. Released the same year as Cherry 2000, same energy: practical effects, committed acting, science fiction as playground.

But It's genuinely grotesque in places. The monster effects, while impressive, involve a lot of slime and viscera. Not for the squeamish.

Red Sonja1985

Brigitte Nielsen as a warrior queen seeking revenge across a sword-and-sorcery landscape. It's a shamelessly fun action film with an unapologetic female lead. That same commitment to spectacle over subtlety that Cherry 2000 has.

But Arnold Schwarzenegger is in it, playing against type in a supporting role. Some find him miscast; his performance is... unusual. The plot is tissue-thin.

Blade Runner 20492017

Gorgeously shot sci-fi noir about androids, humanity, and love. It's contemplative where Cherry 2000 is giddy, but both wrestle with what it means to care about something artificial. Stunning cinematography and a haunting score.

But Three hours long and deliberately slow. It's meditative rather than active. If you want momentum and wisecracks, this is the opposite.

Phantom of the Paradise1974

Both films center on men loving creations—android or artificial—and both use spectacle and rock-adjacent soundscapes to explore whether that love can be real, or whether it says something broken about the lover.

Brian De Palma's operatic musical horror-thriller about a composer who builds a rock opera around his obsession with an artificial woman. It's campy, violent, gorgeously composed, and genuinely moving. A film that worships surfaces while breaking your heart.

But It's a 1974 art film styled as glam horror-rock opera. If you need linear narrative and contemporary sensibilities, this will feel deliberately obtuse. Also quite dark and violent.