Film

Making Mr. Right

Name: Making Mr. Right
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Science Fiction
Released: 1987
Cast: John Malkovich, Ann Magnuson, Glenne Headly, Ben Masters, Laurie Metcalf

A 1987 romantic comedy where an image consultant teaches an android to behave like a man, then finds herself genuinely attracted to him. It's a clever play on the Pygmalion myth dressed up in '80s tech-speak, all bright colours and synthesiser energy. Earnest and oddly touching beneath the satire, it's for anyone who loves that specific era's brand of romantic sci-fi and doesn't mind their comedy a little strange.

TMDb rating

2.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a romantic comedy built on an odd premise and played with a straight face, and you find Malkovich's deadpan, slightly chilly charm more appealing than a conventional leading man.

Skip it if you want sharp, fast jokes, since this one is gentle, talky and content to let its gags sit back while characters sort out their feelings.

What it asks of you: Under ninety-eight minutes, it stays light and unhurried, so you can accept an absurd setup, relax into its breezy tone and skip any need to track intricate plotting.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Splash1984

A mermaid falls for an ordinary man in New York, mixing romance, comedy, and gentle fantasy with real heart. It has the same '80s charm and willingness to let sincere emotion live alongside the premise.

But The fish-out-of-water comedy beats feel dated now, and the romance moves at a pace that modern audiences might find slow.

Mannequin1987

A department-store dummy comes to life for one man. It's almost the exact same year and vibe—impossible romance, fashion world satire, synthesisers, and a real affection for its absurd conceit.

But The humour is heavily tied to '80s mall culture and retro-baiting, which can feel thin if you're not feeling nostalgic.

Weird Science1985

Two nerds create a woman in a computer. Like Making Mr. Right, it's sci-fi romantic comedy that takes its silly premise seriously enough to earn genuine emotional beats.

But The gender politics haven't aged gracefully, and it leans harder into teen comedy clichés than you might want.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Making Mr. Right

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Metropolis1927

Both explore the question of whether a non-human being can genuinely feel love, but through opposite emotional registers—Lang's tragedy versus Susan Seidelman's comedy.

Fritz Lang's sci-fi epic features the Maschinenmensch—a robot woman built to seduce a man—as the central love object. It's the grandparent of every robot-romance story, including Making Mr. Right, but told as tragic visionary sci-fi instead of cute comedy.

But It's silent, German Expressionist, and very long. The pacing and aesthetic are radically different from anything made in the '80s, and it asks for patience.

Pygmalion1938

The source myth: a sculptor falls for his own creation. Shaw's wit translates perfectly to film, and the central romance has the same intellectual playfulness that Making Mr. Right echoes.

But It's a play adaptation from 1938—dialogue-heavy and very British, which can feel stiff if you're used to modern pacing.

Big1988

A boy becomes a man overnight and has to navigate adulthood and romance. It shares the fish-out-of-water romantic comedy DNA and a genuine sweetness beneath the fish-out-of-water hijinks.

But The 'adult' comedy angles feel obvious now, and the climax gets maudlin if you're not in the right mood.

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes1984

A man raised by apes learns human society. It's got the same fish-out-of-water romance and the question of what it means to be 'civilized'—but as a serious adventure film instead of a comedy.

But It's slow, languid, and deeply earnest—the opposite of Making Mr. Right's energy, which might feel like a slog.

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes poster

Electric Dreams1984

A man falls for the artificial intelligence in his computer. One of the first serious takes on human-AI romance, with '80s production design and real melancholy under the tech-utopia premise.

But It predates the visual language of '80s sci-fi that people actually enjoy—it looks cheap and feels dated even by then-standards.

Roxanne1987

Steve Martin rewrites Cyrano as a romantic comedy. Same year as Making Mr. Right, same warmth, same refusal to play it too cool about genuine feeling.

But The nose-insecurity plot has aged awkwardly, and the film sentimentalizes its protagonist's loneliness in ways that don't quite land.

Coming to America1988

An African prince comes to Queens and learns what it means to be a regular man. It's got fish-out-of-water romance and a sincere heart for its premise, plus a lot more mainstream charm.

But It's a comedy vehicle first and everything else second—if you want emotional stakes, you'll find mostly jokes.

Midnight in Paris2011

Both use an impossible relationship—with a being or a time that doesn't fully exist in the protagonist's world—to ask what real human connection actually means.

A man falls in love with a woman from another time and has to choose between impossible romance and real life. Same romantic structure, same meditation on what we're really looking for in a partner.

But Woody Allen's nostalgia can feel insufferable, and the Paris fantasy can come across as self-indulgent rather than touching.

Cherry 20001987

Both are 1987 films about men trying to build or maintain a 'perfect' romantic partner, but one believes in the fantasy and one mocks it viciously.

A man journeys to find a replacement model of his defunct robot girlfriend. It's the dark-comedy dystopian mirror to Making Mr. Right—same premise, same year, but played as grimy action-comedy rather than bright romantic satire.

But It's genuinely trashy—low-budget, crude, and proudly so. The humour is aggressive and the production values are rough.