''Cherry 2000'' is a 1988 American science-fiction film directed by

Steve De Jarnatt Steve De Jarnatt is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and short-story author. De Jarnatt is perhaps best known for writing and directing the nuclear-apocalypse thriller '' Miracle Mile'' (1988) and directing the sci-fi fil ...

and starring

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...

and David Andrews. It was produced by

Edward R. Pressman Edward Rambach Pressman (April 11, 1943 – January 17, 2023) was an American film producer and founder of the production company Edward R. Pressman Film Corporation. Pressman was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Lynn and J ...

and

Caldecot Chubb Caldecot "Cotty" Chubb (born March 3, 1950) is an American film producer who has produced films such as ''Eve's Bayou'', '' Hoffa'', ''Unthinkable'', ''The Crow'', '' Dark Blue'' and ''Pootie Tang''. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best ...

. The screenplay was by

Michael Almereyda Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1960) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early work Almereyda studied art history at Harvard but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on ...

Plot

In the year 2017, the United States has fragmented into post-apocalyptic wastelands with a few civilized areas. An ongoing economic crisis has led to the

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The Energy recycling, recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability t ...

of aging 20th-century mechanical and technological equipment. Society has also become averse to intimacy, as well as both increasingly hypersexualized and bureaucratic. Robotic technology has produced Gynoids as substitutes for wives. The declining instances of actual sex among men and women is litigious, with one brothel having lawyers draft up contracts detailing the intended sexual rendezvous. Business executive Sam Treadwell ( David Andrews) owns a Cherry 2000 model as his wife. After she short circuits during sex on a wet kitchen floor, Sam is told by a repairman that she is damaged beyond repair, though her rare and valuable memory disk, which contains her entire personality, can be used in a new body if the same model can be found. A Gynoid dealer tells Sam that the Cherry 2000 model is no longer produced and that the only remaining ones are in a defunct warehouse in "Zone 7," a particularly dangerous, lawless area. With Cherry's memory disk stored in a device that plays back Cherry's voice, Sam hires Edith "E" Johnson (

), a tough tracker, to guide him to the factory. They set off in Edith's heavily modified

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

. Entering Zone 7, they encounter Lester ( Tim Thomerson), a wasteland overlord with deranged subordinates. Edith and Sam take refuge in an underground reservoir occupied by Six-Fingered Jake ( Ben Johnson), an elderly tracker who was Edith's mentor. When Lester's men attack, the three attempt to escape, but Sam is knocked unconscious and taken to a 1950s-styled motel/village. Ginger (Cameron Milzer), one of Lester's gang, reveals herself as Sam's ex-girlfriend, previously known as Elaine. Lester decides to induct Sam into the group, and Sam, believing that Edith and Jake are dead, goes along for a while. When he witnesses the group sadistically murdering a tracker, Sam decides to escape and runs into Edith and Jake, still quite alive. Jake, who had earlier led Sam to believe that the Cherry 2000 memory disk had been lost, still has it and gives it to Edith while he stays behind to draw off Lester's gang. Sam, a veteran of earlier wars, shows that he is a capable fighter, and Edith begins to have feelings for him. Sam's own growing feelings toward Edith, though, are derailed when he hears Cherry's voice accidentally play on the audio device. Continuing to work their way to the Gynoid warehouse, they arrive at a brothel/gas station owned by Snappy Tom ( Harry Carey, Jr.), a friend of Jake's, where a dilapidated

Aeronca Champion The Aeronca Model 7 Champion, commonly known as the "Champ", or "Airknocker",Bellanca Aircraft Corp, " d: "The Champ only $4,995"" ''Flying Annual & Pilots' Guide,'' 1971 ed., pp.36–37 iff-Davis NY is a single-engine light airplane with a ...

light airplane is stored. Edith repairs the plane using parts from the Mustang. Jake catches up with the group and reminisces with Snappy Tom, but Snappy's live-in girlfriend (Jennifer Mayo) betrays their location to Lester over the radio and shoots Jake in the back. Edith and Sam manage to escape in the plane. Sam is almost ready to abandon the quest, but Edith is determined to complete her job as a tracker so Jake's death will not become meaningless. As they land, Zone 7 is revealed to be actually the abandoned ruins of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

and the Gynoid "warehouse" is actually a casino. Sam finally finds a functional Cherry 2000 model ( Pamela Gidley) and activates her with the memory disk; however, being programmed only for home life and sex, the robot is incapable of adapting to the current dangerous situation when Lester and his gang attack. In an extended battle, Sam, Edith, and Cherry climb aboard the airplane, but their combined weight prevents takeoff. Edith jumps out so that Sam and the robot can escape, but Sam realizes that Cherry cannot provide the human interaction that he and Edith have had and turns the plane around. Cherry, programmed to fulfill Sam's wishes, offers to bring him a Pepsi, so he sends her away as he and Edith fight off Lester's gang and take off in the plane. When Lester tries to lasso the plane, he gets caught in the rope and hangs himself from one of the ancient Las Vegas neon casino signs. Edith and Sam kiss as they fly away into the sunset.

Cast

as Edith "E" Johnson * David Andrews as Sam Treadwell * Tim Thomerson as Lester * Pamela Gidley as Cherry 2000 *

Harry Carey Jr. Henry George Carey Jr. (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films, including several John Ford Westerns, as well as numerous television series. Early life Carey was born on a ranch near ...

as Tom "Snappy Tom" * Jennifer Mayo as Randa, Snappy Tom's Girlfriend * Ben Johnson as Jake "Six-Fingered Jake" *

Brion James Brion Howard James (February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999) was an American character actor. He portrayed Leon Kowalski in ''Blade Runner'' and appeared in ''Southern Comfort'', '' 48 Hrs.'', ''Another 48 Hrs.'', '' Silverado'', ''Tango & Cash'', ' ...

as Stacy * Marshall Bell as Bill * Laurence Fishburne (as Larry Fishburne) as Glu Glu Lawyer *

Michael C. Gwynne Michael C. Gwynne (born October 1, 1942) is an American film, television and radio actor. His film roles include '' Payday'' (1973), ''A Cold Night's Death'' (1973), '' Harry in Your Pocket'' (1973), '' The Terminal Man'' (1974), '' Special Deli ...

as "Slim" * Jack Thibeau as Stubby Man * Robert Zdar as Chet * Jennifer Balgobin as Glory Hole Clerk * Cameron Milzer as Elaine / Ginger

Location

According to the credits, the film was shot entirely in Nevada. The van plunging into an open pit was shot at Three Kids Mine. The river-crossing sequence was filmed at the

Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on S ...

. Scenes at the Sky Ranch were filmed at the Beehive group camping area in the

Valley of Fire State Park Valley of Fire State Park is a public recreation and nature preservation area covering nearly located south of Overton, Nevada. The state park derives its name from red sandstone formations, the Aztec Sandstone, which formed from shifting s ...

. E and Sam's first kiss was filmed in the upper reaches of the Las Vegas Wash. Adobe Flats was filmed at Eldorado Valley Dry Lake Bed. The town of Glory Hole was filmed in Goldfield, Nevada. The Integratron building in Landers, California, was used as the casino that was the "abandoned manufacturing plant" holding a rare copy of the outdated Cherry 2000 Gynoid at the end of the film. The fortress-like building featured in the film is in Commerce, California, at the location of a former tire factory, which was renovated and transformed into the Citadel Outlet Mall.

Release

After its completion in December 1985,

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

originally scheduled ''Cherry 2000'' for a U.S. release on August 15, 1986. Sometime later, the date was postponed to March 1987, then September 1987. An article in The Times Leader commented on May 22, 1987 that the film had been "shelved since 986 this western is set in the 21st century. Hope it opens by then." Joseph Gelmins wrote in

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...

that it was scheduled for September. In October 1987,

The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' ...

announced the film for release in February 1988. Producer

confessed that ''Cherry 2000'''s combination of genres, styles, and themes stumped promoters at Orion, resulting in its repeated shelving. On discussing the delays of the film, Pressman stated that the film was a "tough sell" while the director Steve DeJarnatt stated "no one who's seen it hates it or anything" and that "It's also kind of a soft film. I don't think anyone really knows how to market it." The film was released on VHS in North America on November 17, 1988. A reviewer in ''Variety'' noted that the film had "gone fast to video after the briefest of theatrical screenings."

Reception

The film holds a 38% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 21 reviews, with a weighted average of 4.24/10. The site's consensus reads: "While ''Cherry 2000'' has a certain low-budget appeal, all but the most ardent genre enthusiasts are likely to find its silly story and uneven performances unintentionally amusing". Among contemporary reviews, a critic credited as "Strat." in a July 8, 1988 '' Variety'' review of the film on RCA/Columbia video cassette, regarded Melanie Griffith as the film's greatest asset who "lifts the material whenever she's on screen" and described the production as "quite lavish and the Nevada locations suitably rugged. Production design by John J. Moore is a major plus."

References

Sources

External links

* * * {{rotten-tomatoes, cherry_2000, Cherry 2000 *
Cherry 2000
' at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

1988 films 1980s action comedy films 1980s science fiction comedy films 1988 independent films 1980s satirical films American action comedy films American science fiction comedy films American independent films American satirical films American science fiction action films Android (robot) films Fictional gynoids Films scored by Basil Poledouris Films set in 2017 Films set in the future Films shot in California Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Nevada Orion Pictures films American post-apocalyptic films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films