Synopsis
A reclusive scientist, Jeff Peters (Malkovich), builds a robot, Ulysses, which looks exactly like himself and is set to go on a long-term space mission. Since the (real) scientist seems to lack all emotions, he is unable to program his (lack of) emotion into his automaton, and an eccentric woman is hired to "educate" the robot on human behavior. In the end, she falls in love--but is it with the robot or with Mr. Right?
Scores
Overall Score
30.6
Popularity Percentile (Year)
26.4%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
24.9%
Review Aggregate
50.0
Critic Consensus
Critic reception is mixed, with 73% of 11 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize funny, lighthearted, emotional. Common reservations focus on execution consistency, even when reviewers praise standout elements.
funnylightheartedemotionalcharacter-drivenromanticvisually striking
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Malkovich | 1987 | $891,000 | $2,461,000 | (est) |
| Ann Magnuson | 1987 | $549,000 | $1,515,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score60.0
RT critic review count15
Rotten Tomatoes audience score35.0
RT audience rating count1,000
IMDb rating5.5
IMDb votes3,294
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 1987 | $1,584,970 | $4,376,806 |
| International | 1987 | N/A | N/A |
| Worldwide | 1987 | $1,584,970 | $4,376,806 |
Earnings / Profitability
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 1987 | $792,485 | $2,188,403 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 1987 | N/A | N/A |
| Digital Purchases ? | 1987 | N/A | N/A |
| Physical Rentals ? | 1987 | $5,116,000 | $14,127,546 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 1987 | $2,386,000 | $6,588,805 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 1987 | $633,988 | $1,750,722 |
| Total Revenues | 1987 | $8,928,473 | $24,655,476 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget ? | 1987 | $9,000,000 | $24,852,994 |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 1987 | $1,268,000 (est) | $3,501,511 (est) |
| Participations | 1987 | $179,000 | $494,298 |
| Residuals ? | 1987 | $577,000 | $1,593,353 |
| Interest & Overhead | 1987 | $1,800,000 | $4,970,599 |
| Total Expenses | 1987 | $12,824,000 | $35,412,755 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 1987 | $-3,895,527 | $-10,757,279 |
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