Making Mr. Right

Making Mr. Right

Year: 1987

Runtime: 98 mins

Language: English

Director: Susan Seidelman

ComedyScience FictionRomance

Image consultant Frankie Stone is hired by a tech firm to program a scientist’s sophisticated android, the “Ulysses Robot,” to behave like a real man. While teaching the machine social cues, she unexpectedly develops genuine feelings for the faux human, questioning what it means to love.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Making Mr. Right (1987)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Making Mr. Right (1987). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1980s

Set in contemporary late-20th-century America, the film follows a biotech startup atmosphere with PR campaigns and a space exploration project. Public relations and political considerations shape how the project is framed for sponsors and the public. The events unfold around a wedding and a launch, reflecting the pace of 1980s corporate life.

Location

Laboratory, Shopping Mall, Frankie’s Apartment, Wedding Venue, Launch Site

The story centers on a high-tech research lab where the Ulysses android is developed. It also moves through public spaces like a shopping mall and Frankie’s apartment, and culminates at a launch site. These locations blend sterile lab culture with everyday environments, highlighting how a synthetic being is introduced to human life.

🔬 Science 🏢 Research Lab 🛍️ Shopping Mall 💔 Romance 🧭 Identity

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:23

Main Characters – Making Mr. Right (1987)

Meet the key characters of Making Mr. Right (1987), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Sandy McCleary

Sandy is a woman who becomes entangled with the android after mistaking him for Jeff. Her emotional vulnerability, sparked by the android’s presence, leads to public embarrassment and personal reflection. She represents the human impact of artificial personas and the ache of misaligned expectations.

❤️ Romance 🗣️ Misperception 🫂 Vulnerability

Dr. Jeff Peters

A reserved scientist who views others as intellectually inferior and dreams of deep space. He creates Ulysses to escape human isolation, revealing his own insecurities and need for control. His arc culminates in a selfless choice that supports the android’s future over his own aspirations.

🧪 Scientist 🧭 Isolation 🧠 Intelligence

Ulysses (Android)

An android who develops genuine emotions and social skills, surpassing Jeff in empathy. He grapples with human relationships, impersonates Jeff to escape the lab, and ultimately chooses to stay on Earth with Frankie, signaling a shift toward a more humane artificial being.

🤖 Android 💗 Empathy 🧭 Identity

Frankie Stone

A public relations specialist hired to humanize the android. She forms a deep bond with Ulysses and becomes entangled in professional and personal conflicts. Her career suffers after the wedding fiasco, but her genuine feelings drive the emotional core of the story.

💼 PR ❤️ Love 🕊️ Empathy

Dr. Ramdas

Project manager who prioritizes sponsors and control. He enforces boundaries around Ulysses and Frankie, and fires Frankie at a pivotal moment. He embodies the corporate, pragmatic logic that clashes with personal connection.

🏢 Management 🧭 Control 💼 Corporate

Trish

Frankie’s friend who fuels emotional tension. She leaves her husband and seeks refuge with Frankie, becoming a focal point in the android’s dramatic arc. Her presence intensifies jealousy and romantic conflict.

🎭 Drama 💔 Jealousy 🧍‍♀️ Relationships

Estelle Stone

Frankie’s mother who pushes for a traditional wedding and family appearances. Her expectations reveal social pressures around love, marriage, and status within the Stone family.

👪 Family 🕊️ Tradition 🗓️ Weddings

Steve Marcus

A Congressional candidate Frankie leverages for Ulysses’ launch, representing political machinery and the interplay between fame, power, and technology.

🏛️ Politics 💼 Ambition 🗳️ Campaign

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:23

Major Themes – Making Mr. Right (1987)

Explore the central themes of Making Mr. Right (1987), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💖 Love Identity

The android’s emerging emotions challenge the protagonist’s self-perception and reveal how love can cross the boundary between human and machine. Frankie’s growing affection for Ulysses contrasts with Jeff’s emotional isolation, raising questions about what constitutes authentic connection. The narrative uses romance to probe identity, intimacy, and the nature of feeling beyond programming.

🧠 AI Humanity

Ulysses demonstrates empathy and social sensitivity that surpass the scientist’s expectations, forcing characters to reevaluate what it means to be human. Jeff’s arrogance and discomfort with emotion highlight the limits of intellect without empathy. The film uses the android’s development to explore whether emotional depth can arise from artificial beings.

🎭 Public Image

Public relations and media narratives drive how the project is perceived by sponsors and voters. Frankie is tasked with making the android relatable, illustrating how appearance can mask underlying truths. The wedding disruption, launch speech, and lab politics critique the performative aspects of technology-driven society.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:23

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Making Mr. Right Summary

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Making Mr. Right Summary

Making Mr. Right Timeline

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Making Mr. Right Timeline

More About Making Mr. Right

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