On this day all the way back in the year 1987, the SciFi/RomCom Cherry 2000 premiered quietly in the great nation of Austria, giving the young Melanie Griffith one of her earliest silver screen roles of note. Just a year before, the actress lit up the screen in the critically acclaimed Something Wild (from Jonathan Demme), so Cherry was a marked departure: Wild's 'Audrey Hankel' was an unpredictable free spirit while Cherry's 'E. Johnson' was a tough, no-nonsense kinda guy good with a gun and quick with a quip. Yes, she may've turned a bit warm and gooey in the right moments (that tends to happen in the traditional RomCom, peeps), but the appeal of her character was the demonstrated grit it took to survive in the film's 'Badlands' and her willingness to do what was necessary to get the job done.
Not a lot has been written about the film (at least, not that I've been able to locate). For those interested, it looks like on Amazon (reviewed here) that there was one of those Special Edition style releases done back in 2015 via Kino Lorber available which boasts a commentary from director Steve De Jarnatt that could be worth a purchase. (It's sad that video rental stores have fallen into obscurity, no?) Griffith is joined by David Andrews, Tim Thomerson, and the late Pamela Gidley in the principle roles; and there are some familiar faces like Brion James, Marshall Bell, and Laurence Fishburne in small ones. I certainly don't think the film set the box office ablaze wherever and whenever it played (I'm not seeing any numbers even provided by the public postings on IMDB.com), but I do recall the film creating a bit of an excitement when it was released on home video in the United States.
As for the story?
Those of you following the developments in the sex doll industry of today might be tickled pink to know that such a robotic companion figures central to Cherry 2000 as that's the make and model of Sam Treadwell's mechanical mate in the film. In the year 2017, it would seem that human copulation has become passe, and successful businessmen pair up with these Cherrys in lieu of the more conventional flesh-and-blood housewife. As tends to happen in B pictures of every era, Earth has falled into disarray (there are hints of a previous Apocalypse with society broken between the big city, these small Old West style towns, and the Badlands). When Treadwell's Cherry suffers a catastrophic malfunction, he needs to obtain a new processing chip to re-animate her. He learns that these can likely only be found in the wasteland, so he hires the resourceful E. Johnson as a guide. Anyone with half-a-brain knows that these two are eventually destined to fall in love, so the fun of a film like Cherry 2000 is that inevitable road trip to happiness that's fraught with adventures along the way.
Essentially, Cherry's story is a metaphor for life and love: you get out of any relationship what you put in. When you're living an existence with a partner programmed to provide you with every pleasure, the question becomes, "Are you truly being fulfilled?" Treadwell's idyllic marriage was always only one system failure away, and it took such devastation to eventually pull him out of the routine to show him what he was truly missing in his life was the unbridled spontaneity a journey alongside E. Johnson could deliver. By contrast, E. is used to serving as guide largely to those who take a back seat to her commands; as Sam either deliberately or accidentally keeps throwing her off-track, the woman comes to understand that she's a better woman when relying on her instincts. It's when her instincts tell her that she's falling for Sam that she truly finds a purpose other than driving and fighting.
Love is found, but it isn't without sacrifice. In the big finish, Sam finally realizes that Cherry's perfection isn't the attention he craves; and, thus, he lets her go, albeit kinda/sorta heartlessly leaving her to her own curious wiles in the desert frontier. (Never fret, as she does find her own 'partner' in the comic finale.) Unwilling to give up her career, E. sacrifices what she believes could be a life of happiness by instead ensuring that she finishes the job: she truly believes she's given Sam what he wants, and -- ever the fighter -- she agrees to "go down with the ship" (as it were) by giving him and his Cherry the distraction they need to escape the film's villains. It's this shared sacrifice that textually means Sam and E. are truly meant to be: sacrifice leads to personal epiphany, and our lovers are re-united the way couples are in cinematic fashion.
Though imperfect (don't even get me started), Cherry 2000 is still one of those B Movies that deserves being discovered. The flick has more than its fair share of eye-rolling moments, and Michael Almereyda's adaptation of the Lloyd Fonvielle story never quite strikes a perfect balance between comedy and camp. Still, the characters are given enough heart to make even the smallest audience root for them to find the happiness they do (even in a wasteland), and who among us can't appreciate 'love conquers all' message of a man choosing flesh-and-blood over the potential Skynet fiasco some other franchise delivers?
If you haven't seen it, then check it out. Why, it's only an incredible 33 years young today!
-- EZ
Not a lot has been written about the film (at least, not that I've been able to locate). For those interested, it looks like on Amazon (reviewed here) that there was one of those Special Edition style releases done back in 2015 via Kino Lorber available which boasts a commentary from director Steve De Jarnatt that could be worth a purchase. (It's sad that video rental stores have fallen into obscurity, no?) Griffith is joined by David Andrews, Tim Thomerson, and the late Pamela Gidley in the principle roles; and there are some familiar faces like Brion James, Marshall Bell, and Laurence Fishburne in small ones. I certainly don't think the film set the box office ablaze wherever and whenever it played (I'm not seeing any numbers even provided by the public postings on IMDB.com), but I do recall the film creating a bit of an excitement when it was released on home video in the United States.
As for the story?
Those of you following the developments in the sex doll industry of today might be tickled pink to know that such a robotic companion figures central to Cherry 2000 as that's the make and model of Sam Treadwell's mechanical mate in the film. In the year 2017, it would seem that human copulation has become passe, and successful businessmen pair up with these Cherrys in lieu of the more conventional flesh-and-blood housewife. As tends to happen in B pictures of every era, Earth has falled into disarray (there are hints of a previous Apocalypse with society broken between the big city, these small Old West style towns, and the Badlands). When Treadwell's Cherry suffers a catastrophic malfunction, he needs to obtain a new processing chip to re-animate her. He learns that these can likely only be found in the wasteland, so he hires the resourceful E. Johnson as a guide. Anyone with half-a-brain knows that these two are eventually destined to fall in love, so the fun of a film like Cherry 2000 is that inevitable road trip to happiness that's fraught with adventures along the way.
Essentially, Cherry's story is a metaphor for life and love: you get out of any relationship what you put in. When you're living an existence with a partner programmed to provide you with every pleasure, the question becomes, "Are you truly being fulfilled?" Treadwell's idyllic marriage was always only one system failure away, and it took such devastation to eventually pull him out of the routine to show him what he was truly missing in his life was the unbridled spontaneity a journey alongside E. Johnson could deliver. By contrast, E. is used to serving as guide largely to those who take a back seat to her commands; as Sam either deliberately or accidentally keeps throwing her off-track, the woman comes to understand that she's a better woman when relying on her instincts. It's when her instincts tell her that she's falling for Sam that she truly finds a purpose other than driving and fighting.
Love is found, but it isn't without sacrifice. In the big finish, Sam finally realizes that Cherry's perfection isn't the attention he craves; and, thus, he lets her go, albeit kinda/sorta heartlessly leaving her to her own curious wiles in the desert frontier. (Never fret, as she does find her own 'partner' in the comic finale.) Unwilling to give up her career, E. sacrifices what she believes could be a life of happiness by instead ensuring that she finishes the job: she truly believes she's given Sam what he wants, and -- ever the fighter -- she agrees to "go down with the ship" (as it were) by giving him and his Cherry the distraction they need to escape the film's villains. It's this shared sacrifice that textually means Sam and E. are truly meant to be: sacrifice leads to personal epiphany, and our lovers are re-united the way couples are in cinematic fashion.
Though imperfect (don't even get me started), Cherry 2000 is still one of those B Movies that deserves being discovered. The flick has more than its fair share of eye-rolling moments, and Michael Almereyda's adaptation of the Lloyd Fonvielle story never quite strikes a perfect balance between comedy and camp. Still, the characters are given enough heart to make even the smallest audience root for them to find the happiness they do (even in a wasteland), and who among us can't appreciate 'love conquers all' message of a man choosing flesh-and-blood over the potential Skynet fiasco some other franchise delivers?
If you haven't seen it, then check it out. Why, it's only an incredible 33 years young today!
-- EZ
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