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Cherry 2000
(Steve De Jarnatt 1987)
Trash rating

If the sight of Melanie Griffith with bright red hair and a shotgun isn't enough to turn you onto this movie, then let me have a try. On the surface Cherry 2000 looks like some god awful Rambo or Mad Max rip off. Whilst there may be some justification in that comparison, the post apocalyptic setting, big guns, big hair etc etc. The fact is Cherry 2000 plays nothing like those movies, and guess what, it's pretty enjoyable stuff too.

The story concerns Sam Treadwell (David Andrews) a mild mannered office jockey with a robot wife/sex object called a Cherry 2000. When his Cherry breaks (no pun intended), after the washing machine overloads (I'm not kidding), Sam removes her memory/personality disc, and looks for a replacement body. The only problem is Cherry is an obsolete model, and all the replacement bodies are in the middle of a hostile wasteland outside the city. Desperate (Sam is in love with his Cherry), he hires tom boy Edith 'E' Johnson (Melanie Griffith) a tracker who knows the location of the Cherry stash, to lead him there. The rest of the movie is their perilous journey across the desert into Zone 7, where they encounter Lester (a very funny Tim Thomerson) and his odd band of crazies. Naturally Treadwell and Johnson fall for each other, but can he ditch his beloved Cherry?



Cherry 2000 is pretty offbeat stuff that plays more like a wacky cyberpunk comedy adventure, than an action movie. It's a little slow at times, and the production values are decidedly second rate, but the film is full of ideas, and always entertaining. Griffith is the best thing about the movie though, I've always liked her kooky screen presence, and here she's really sexy and cool (especially if you're fifteen years old). Plus the chemistry between her and David Andrews is quite charming. We also get the late Brion James in a small role as a rival tracker, and Lawrence Fishburn as a futuristic lawyer. All in all this is a weird, quirky little sleeper of a b-movie, ideal as a midnight indulgence, and well worth a look. Just don't expect breath taking action scenes.