Making Mr. Right is a romantic comedy from 1987, directed by Susan Seidelman. The film stars Ann Magnuson as Frankie Stone, an advertising executive who is hired to train and humanize an android named Ulysses, who looks exactly like his creator, Dr. Jeff Peters, played by John Malkovich.
Dr. Peters is a brilliant scientist who has developed Ulysses to go on a long term space mission, as the android can endure extreme conditions that humans cannot. However, since Dr. Peters lacks all human emotion, he is unable to program it into the android, making it an unsuitable candidate for the mission. It is then that Frankie is hired to educate Ulysses on human behavior, especially romantic relationships.
Frankie begins to teach Ulysses about a range of emotions, from happiness to sadness, but she finds herself becoming emotionally attached to the android as well. Ulysses, despite being a robot, begins to learn and understand human behavior. During the course of their training, Ulysses starts developing feelings for Frankie, which she initially rejects, but later becomes reciprocated.
Meanwhile, Dr. Peters becomes increasingly jealous of the time that Frankie is spending with Ulysses and interferes with their training, causing conflict and tension between the three of them. Eventually, Ulysses breaks free from Dr. Peters’ control and embarks on a journey of self-discovery, where he must choose between his creator, who he owes his life to, or Frankie, who he has developed feelings for.
Making Mr. Right is a unique love story that explores themes of human emotion, identity, and self-discovery. The film is a blend of science fiction, comedy, and romance, and leaves the audience questioning the boundaries between human and machine.
