FEATURE:
Breathless Mahoney and the Rockford Peaches
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna as Susan Thomas in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
Madonna’s Best Screen Roles
___________
I have been thinking a bit about Madonna…
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna with her dancers for 1991’s Madonna: Truth or Dare/PHOTO CREDIT: Mirimax
and a few anniversaries coming up. Her album, Music, turns twenty later in the year whilst Confessions on a Dance Floor turns fifteen. As much as I love Madonna’s music, I think her film roles get overlooked. Madonna has worked in twenty-six feature films and, whilst many of them have been slated and slagged off, she has been in some great films. I think films like Shanghai Surprise (1986) and Swept Away (2002) are bad films she couldn’t save but, in some cases, Madonna has been attacked for no reason. I think she was great in Who’s That Girl (1987) and Body of Evidence (1993), but reviews were not that favourable. I guess, when Madonna was at her most popular, critics loved to put the claws in; sometimes justified, many times not. We have artists like Lady Gaga who have bridged film and music, but there is nobody like Madonna now who can release a studio album, tour and star in a huge film. She is an artist who always kept busy and wanted to explore different fields. Whilst a lot of her film endeavours were not overly-great, there were some shining moments involving Madonna and film. Dick Tracy, in which Madonna appeared as Breathless Mahoney, turns thirty in June; the I’m Breathless soundtrack is thirty on 22nd May and, among its songs, we have the Vogue. Whilst many people dismiss Madonna’s acting and rubbish her films, there have been some terrific releases that are definitely worth another look. Here, in my view, are the best Madonna films (or films in which she appeared). In each case, I have included the plot, box office earnings and release date (information taken from Wikipedia) and why each film is so great…
Dick Tracy
Release Date: 14th June, 1990 (Lake Buena Vista)/15th June, 1990 (United States)
Box Office: $162.7 million
The Full Lowdown:
“The film is set in the 1930s.[5][6] At an illegal card game, a young street urchin witnesses the massacre of a group of mobsters at the hands of Flattop and Itchy, two of the hoods on the payroll of Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice. Big Boy's crime syndicate is aggressively taking over small businesses in the city. Detective Dick Tracy catches the urchin (who calls himself "Kid") in an act of petty theft. After rescuing him from a ruthless host, Tracy temporarily adopts him with the help of his girlfriend, Tess Trueheart.
Meanwhile, Big Boy coerces club owner Lips Manlis into signing over the deed to Club Ritz. He then kills Lips with a cement overcoat (referred to onscreen as "The Bath") and steals his girlfriend, the seductive and sultry singer Breathless Mahoney (Madonna). After Lips is reported missing, Tracy interrogates his three hired guns Flattop, Itchy, and Mumbles, then goes to the club to arrest Big Boy for Lips' murder. Breathless is the only witness. Instead of providing testimony, she unsuccessfully attempts to seduce Tracy. Big Boy cannot be indicted, and he is released from jail. Big Boy's next move is to try to bring other criminals, including Spud Spaldoni, Pruneface, Influence, Texie Garcia, Ribs Mocca, and Numbers together under his leadership. Spaldoni refuses and is killed with a carbomb, leaving Dick Tracy, who discovered the meeting and was attempting to spy on it, wondering what is going on. The next day, Big Boy and his henchmen kidnap Tracy and attempt to bribe him; Tracy rebuffs them, prompting the criminals to attempt to kill him. However, Tracy is saved by Kid, who is then bestowed by the police with an honorary detective certificate, which will remain temporary until he decides on a legitimate name for himself.
Breathless shows up at Tracy's apartment, once again in an attempt to seduce him. Tracy shows he is only human by allowing her to kiss him. Tess witnesses this scene and eventually leaves town. Tracy leads a seemingly unsuccessful raid on Club Ritz, but it is actually a diversion so that Officer "Bug" Bailey can enter the building to operate a secretly installed listening device so the police can listen in on Big Boy's criminal activities. The resultant raids all but wipe out Big Boy's criminal empire. However, Big Boy discovers Bug, and captures him for a trap planned by Influence and Pruneface to kill Tracy in the warehouse. In the resulting gun battle, a stranger with no face called "The Blank" steps out of the shadows to save Tracy after he is cornered, and kills Pruneface. Influence escapes as Tracy rescues Bug from the fate that befell Lips Manlis, and Big Boy is enraged to hear that The Blank foiled the hit. Tracy again attempts to extract the testimony from Breathless that he needs to put Big Boy away. She agrees to testify only if Tracy agrees to give in to her advances. Tess eventually has a change of heart, but before she can tell Tracy, she is kidnapped by The Blank, with the help of Big Boy's club piano player, 88 Keys. Tracy is drugged and rendered unconscious by The Blank, then framed for murdering the corrupt District Attorney John Fletcher, whereupon he is detained by the police. The Kid, meanwhile, adopts the name "Dick Tracy, Jr."
Big Boy's business thrives until The Blank frames him for Tess' kidnapping. Released by his colleagues on New Year's Eve, Tracy interrogates Mumbles, and arrives at a gun battle outside the Club Ritz where Big Boy's men are killed or captured by Tracy and the police. Abandoning his crew, Big Boy flees to a drawbridge and ties Tess to its gears before he is confronted by Tracy. Their fight is halted when The Blank appears and holds both men at gunpoint, offering to share the city with Tracy after Big Boy is dead. When Junior arrives, Big Boy takes advantage of the distraction and opens fire before Tracy sends him falling to his death in the bridge's gears, while Junior rescues Tess. Mortally wounded, The Blank is revealed to be Breathless Mahoney, who kisses Tracy before dying. All charges against Tracy are dropped.
Later, Tracy proposes to Tess, but is interrupted by the report of a robbery in progress. He leaves her with the ring before he and Dick Tracy, Jr. depart to respond to the robbery, whereupon Junior remarks, "You know, Tracy, I kinda like that dame”.
“Famous detective Dick Tracy's (Warren Beatty) mission to put a brutal mob boss behind bars leads him into the arms of the enigmatic cabaret singer, Breathless Mahoney (Madonna), who, despite holding the key to dismantling Chicago's crime network, seems more interested in seducing him.
Beatty also directed this colorful adaptation of the 1930s comic strip, which sees Madonna more than holding her own with a ridiculous cast of prosthetics-laden characters. Not only does she effortlessly embody the part of a classic gangster's moll, but this is the movie that inspired her to write her album Vogue”.
Desperately Seeking Susan
Release Date: 29th March, 1985
Box Office: $27.3 million
The Full Lowdown:
“Roberta, an unfulfilled housewife in Fort Lee, New Jersey, is fascinated by messages between lovers Susan and Jim in the personals section of a New York City tabloid, particularly an ad from Jim with the headline “Desperately Seeking Susan”, seeking a rendezvous in Battery Park.
In an Atlantic City hotel, the itinerant Susan (Madonna) reads the ad after a tryst with mobster Meeker. She steals a pair of ornate Egyptian earrings from his coat before departing; the sinister Nolan notices Susan's embellished tuxedo jacket as she leaves. Arriving in New York City, Susan dons one of the earrings, stashing the other in her suitcase in a Port Authority locker. She asks to stay with her friend Crystal, a magician's assistant at the Magic Club, and learns Meeker was killed at the hotel.
Hoping to spot the lovers, Roberta goes to Battery Park and sees Jim reunite with Susan before leaving with his band for Buffalo. Roberta follows Susan to a vintage store, watching her trade in her jacket before losing sight of her, and buys the jacket. Finding Susan's locker key, she posts another “Desperately Seeking Susan” ad to meet with her to return it. Concerned about the ad and Susan's connection to Meeker's death, Jim asks his friend Dez to check on her.
Waiting for Susan at Battery Park and wearing her jacket, Roberta is accosted by Nolan, mistaking her for Susan. Susan spots Roberta, but is arrested for not paying her cab fare. Dez arrives and rescues Roberta, who hits her head and loses her memory. Also mistaking Roberta for Susan, Dez takes her to the Port Authority to collect Susan's suitcase, finding the other earring, and lets her stay at his apartment.
Roberta, believing she must be Susan, retraces Susan's steps with Nolan in pursuit. She arrives at the Magic Club – narrowly missing Susan, who has been released from jail and discovered her suitcase gone – and is hired as Crystal's replacement. After Roberta's disastrous first performance, Nolan attacks her, demanding the earrings, but he escapes as the police arrive. Roberta hits her head again, regaining her memory, but is mistaken for a prostitute and arrested.
Searching for Roberta, her husband Gary finds his way to the vintage store and is put in touch with Susan, who believes Roberta and Dez are connected to Meeker's death and want to frame her. Susan accompanies Gary home, where they get high. Roberta calls from jail, but hangs up when Susan and Gary answer. After calling Dez to bail her out, they find his apartment ransacked by Nolan, and sleep together.
At Gary's house, Susan sees a TV report about Meeker and Nolan having stolen the earrings, once belonging to Nefertiti. She realizes the truth from Roberta's diary, and posts an ad to meet her at the Magic Club. Dez attacks an intruder in his apartment who turns out to be Jim, and confesses to his relationship with “Susan” as Roberta slips away. She reads the ad, as do Jim and Dez; they arrive at the Magic Club, along with Gary, his sister Leslie, and Nolan.
During her act, Roberta recognizes Nolan, who flees backstage. Dez leaves as Roberta tries to explain the events of her disappearance to Gary, finally voicing her unhappiness and ending their marriage. Nolan threatens Susan at gunpoint, but is knocked out by Roberta.
Later, Roberta finds Dez at work in a theater projection booth. She “introduces” herself and they kiss, as Jim and Susan reunite in the theater below. A final newspaper headline reveals that Roberta and Susan returned the earrings”.
“While Madonna's first film role was inauspicious (she appeared in the obscure indie art film A Certain Sacrifice from 1979) and her major motion picture debut was brief (she had a cameo as a club singer in 1985's Vision Quest), her first starring role was masterful. Playing a version of herself (minus the insatiable ambition to rule the world) in Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna charmed critics and mall rats alike with her witty delivery, fashion sense and a little song called "Into the Groove".
Here is a recent article from Isabella Trimboli that sheds new light on Desperately Seeking Susan:
“The film was a box office hit but I can see why there may have been concerns about its frankly bonkers premise. Rosanna Arquette plays Roberta, a Jersey housewife married to a gormless hot tub salesman. Bored and miserable, she lives vicariously through the personal ads in the paper, specifically those addressed to an enigmatic drifter, Susan (Madonna, in her first leading film role). Roberta’s obsession with Susan leads Roberta to get hitting on the head, waking up with amnesia and being mistaken for Susan. Screwball antics ensue, involving a chintzy magic show bar, mobsters and a pair of stolen Nefertiti earrings.
At its core, the film traces a desire to upend your identity, locating a roadmap in others. My favourite moment is when Roberta follows Susan into a secondhand clothes shop and watches as she trades in her Pyramid-embroidered jacket for a pair of diamante-studded boots Roberta then buys the jacket. Slipping it on, she gets a temporary thrill from the residues of a more impulsive, unrestricted life.
The film immortalises early-career Madonna, shot when she was on the cusp of fame but still something of a New York club kid. Basically playing herself, she’s a cool, assured presence on screen: wandering around eating cheese puffs with gloves on, drying her armpits in a public bathroom, and dancing to Into the Groove at the club (shot at the legendary Danceteria, where her career took root)”.
A League of Their Own
Release Date: 1st July, 1992
Box Office: $132.4 million
The Full Lowdown:
“In 1988, Dottie Hinson attends the opening of the new All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame. She sees many of her former teammates and friends, prompting a flashback to 1943.
When World War II threatens to shut down Major League Baseball, candy magnate and Cubs owner Walter Harvey persuades his fellow owners to bankroll a women's league. Ira Lowenstein is put in charge, and Ernie Capadino is sent out to recruit players. Capadino attends an industrial-league softball game in rural Oregon and likes what he sees in Dottie, the catcher for a local dairy's team. Dottie turns down Capadino's offer, happy with her simple farm life while waiting for her husband Bob to come back from the war. Her sister and teammate, Kit, however, is desperate to get away and make something of herself. Capadino is not impressed by Kit's hitting performance, but agrees to take her along if she can change Dottie's mind. Dottie agrees, but only for her sister's sake.
Dottie and Kit head out to Harvey Field in Chicago for the tryout. There they meet a pair of New Yorkers, taxi dancer "All the Way" Mae Mordabito (Madonna) and her best friend, bouncer Doris Murphy; along with soft-spoken right fielder Evelyn Gardner; illiterate, shy left fielder Shirley Baker; pitcher/shortstop and former Miss Georgia beauty queen Ellen Sue Gotlander; gentle left field/relief pitcher Betty "Spaghetti" Horn; homely second baseman Marla Hooch, who was scouted by Ernie, Dottie and Kit in Fort Collins, Colorado; first baseman Helen Haley; and Saskatchewan native Alice "Skeeter" Gaspers. They and eight others are selected to form the Rockford Peaches, while 48 others are split among the Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets, and South Bend Blue Sox.
The Peaches are managed by Jimmy Dugan, a former marquee Cubs slugger who initially treats the whole thing as a joke. The league attracts little interest at first. With a Life magazine photographer in the stands, Lowenstein begs the players to do something spectacular. Dottie obliges when a ball is popped up behind home plate, catching it while doing a split. The resulting photograph makes the magazine cover. A publicity campaign draws more people to the ballgames, but the owners remain unconvinced. Due to Kit's and Dottie's sibling rivalry, Kit is traded to the Peaches' rival, the Racine Belles.
The Peaches end the season qualifying for the league's World Series. In the locker room, Jimmy gives Betty a telegram that informs her her husband was killed in action in the Pacific Theater. The grief-stricken Betty leaves the team. Later that evening, Dottie receives a surprise when Bob shows up, having been wounded and discharged from the Army. The following morning, Jimmy discovers that Dottie is going home with Bob. Unable to persuade her to at least play in the World Series, he tells her she will regret her decision.
The Peaches and Belles meet in the World Series, which reaches a seventh and deciding game. Dottie, having reconsidered during the drive back to Oregon, is the catcher for the Peaches, while Kit is the starting pitcher for the Belles. With the Belles leading by a run in the top of the ninth, Dottie drives in the go-ahead run. Kit is distraught but gets a second chance when she comes to bat with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Under immense pressure she gets a hit, and ignoring the third base coach's sign to stop, scores the winning run by knocking her sister over at the plate and dislodging the ball from Dottie's hand. The sellout crowd convinces Harvey to give Lowenstein the owners' support. After the game, the sisters reconcile before Dottie leaves with Bob.
Back in the present, Dottie is reunited with several other players, including Kit. The fates of several of the characters are revealed: Jimmy, Bob, and Evelyn have died, while Marla has been married to Nelson, the man she met in the bar in an earlier scene, for over 40 years. Kit is a mother and grandmother many times over. The original Peaches sing a team song composed by Evelyn and pose for a group photo”.
“Filling the gap left by World War II, an ambitious candy maker assembles an all-female professional baseball league to make up for America's lack of young male athletes. Sisters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty) see a shot at fame and join the team under the tutelage of the cantankerous, past-his-prime coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks).
Madonna is part of the supporting cast (which also includes Rosie O'Donnell) that makes A League of Their Own such a fun and beloved film. As "All the Way" Mae Mordabito, the queen of pop gets to serve up doses of adorable Italian spunk without sickening the audience, a technique she probably should have perfected over taking bigger roles in soppy dramas”.
This Billboard article states why Madonna in a minor role was perfect; how she stood out and fitted in with the cast:
“Sometimes Madonna's acting works best in small doses. As a cigarette-smoking center fielder named "All the Way" Mae in A League of Their Own, Madonna shines alongside real-life pal Rosie O'Donnell. Together, they're the perfect wiseass counterparts to Geena Davis and Lori Petty's farm girl personalities”.
Madonna: Truth or Dare
Release Date: 10th May, 1991
Box Office: $29 million
The Full Lowdown:
“Madonna: Truth or Dare (also known as Truth or Dare and In Bed with Madonna outside of North America) is a 1991 American documentary film by director Alek Keshishian chronicling the life of singer and songwriter Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. Madonna approached Keshishian to do an HBO special on the tour after watching his Harvard senior project. Initially planned to be a traditional concert film, Keshishian was so impressed with the backstage life that he persuaded Madonna to do an actual film focusing on that. Madonna funded the project and served as its executive producer. The film was edited to be in black-and-white, in order to emulate cinéma vérité, while the performance scenes were edited to be in color.
It was screened out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival and was given a limited release on May 10, 1991; two weeks later, it had its worldwide release. It opened to positive reviews, although certain scenes, such as one where Madonna visits her mother's grave, were criticized. Madonna was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actress. With a worldwide gross of $29 million (an estimated $54.44 million in 2019 dollars[1]), it was the highest-grossing documentary of all time, until Bowling for Columbine surpassed it in 2002. Truth or Dare has been noted as a groundbreaking film for its casual portrayal of homosexuality, and was compared to the documentary Paris Is Burning (1990). It has also had an impact on reality television and celebrity culture, inspiring parodies and other music-related documentaries”.
“Alek Keshishian's documentary follows Madonna's controversial "Blonde Ambition" tour as it travels across the globe. Sure, it may feel like a cop-out to list Madonna's appearance in this influential backstage doc among her best, but make no mistake, it is still a performance because, as a celebrity, her life is a performance.
In many ways, Madonna: Truth or Dare was the bedrock of reality TV as we know it today, providing a "candid" look at the private lives of the rich and famous that is actually highly controlled and manicured. Perhaps Madonna has always had a poor screen presence because acting is about "telling the truth," and this documentary proves how little she cares about that. Madonna: Truth or Dare shows one of music's biggest stars as she would like you to see her”.
This SLANT article put the spotlight on Madonna: Truth or Dare and, whilst doing so, asked whether it was as spontaneous and ‘real’ as it appears:
“Madonna’s decision to allow cameras to follow her around constantly during her tour wasn’t about capturing some unguarded moments, but rather the opposite. The camera offers an omnipresent excuse for performance, an opportunity to turn every interaction, no matter how dull or personal, into a work of art. As Warren Beatty, Madonna’s then-boyfriend, at one point famously observes: “She doesn’t want to live off camera, much less talk. There’s nothing to say off camera. Why would you say something if it’s off camera? What point is there existing?” Even in ostensibly private moments, Madonna cleverly plays to the camera, switching between a handful of personae, each incarnation amplified by hair, makeup, and costume: Marilyn Monroe for coquettish charm; Marie Antoinette for an air of luxurious decadence; brassy, streetwise Italian girl to suggest her roots.
In essence, Truth or Dare is less of a concert film than an elaborately constructed exegesis on pop mythmaking and the construction of identity. One part of Madonna’s genius has consistently been the creation (and reinvention) of her persona. Rather than purporting to give an unvarnished look at the woman beneath the bustier, the Alek Keshishian film calls into question the very idea of a consistent identity. Filmed in high-contrast black-and-white 16mm, the backstage scenes intentionally evoke the vérité style of D.A. Pennebaker’s Bob Dylan documentary Don’t Look Back, but here the aesthetic is an ironic appropriation of the idea of observational cinema”.
Who’s That Girl
Release Date: 7th August, 1987
Box Office: $7.3 million
The Full Lowdown:
“Who's That Girl is a 1987 American screwball comedy film directed by James Foley and written by Andrew Smith and Ken Finkleman. It stars Madonna and Griffin Dunne, and depicts the story of a street-smart girl who is falsely accused of murdering her boyfriend and is sent to jail. After being released, she meets a man, who is supposed to make sure she gets on her bus back to Philadelphia, and convinces him to help her catch those responsible for her confinement. While searching for the embezzler, they fall in love with each other.
After the failure of her 1986 film Shanghai Surprise, Madonna decided to sign up for another comedy film titled Slammer, which was later renamed Who's That Girl. However, she had to convince both Warner Bros. and the producers of the film that she was ready for the project. Madonna enlisted her friend James Foley to direct the film. Shooting began in New York in October 1986, and continued until March 1987. Production was halted during December due to snowfall in New York. Madonna utilized the time to work on her next tour and the soundtrack of the film.
The film was released on August 7, 1987, and was a box office bomb, grossing only $2.5 million in its first week, with its final domestic total being about $7.3 million on a budget between $17 million and $20 million. Critics were highly disappointed with the film, and Foley's direction. Madonna's accompanying Who's That Girl World Tour went on to be a critical and commercial success, grossing a total of US$25 million, and playing in front of audiences totaling 1.5 million people. The soundtrack also enjoyed commercial success, with the title track becoming Madonna's sixth number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 record chart”.
“Don't listen to the critics: Who's That Girl is a delightful homage to the screwball comedies of Hollywood's Golden Era. Nothing that happens in this film is believable, but that's not the screwball style. Madonna is perfectly cast as the hungry-for-life, street-smart dame who upsets a stuffy tax attorney's humdrum life just before his wedding. And the running gag of "I had her in my cab once" is priceless”.
Evita
Release Date: 14th December, 1996 (Los Angeles)/25th December, 1996 (United States)
Box Office: $141 million
The Full Lowdown:
“In a cinema in Buenos Aires on July 26, 1952, a film is interrupted when news breaks of the death of Eva Perón, Argentina's First Lady, at the age of 33. As the nation goes into public mourning, Ché, a member of the public, marvels at the spectacle and promises to show how Eva did "nothing, for years". The rest of the film follows Eva (Madonna) from her beginnings as an illegitimate child of a lower-class family to her rise to become First Lady and Spiritual Leader of the Nation of Argentina; Ché assumes many different guises throughout Eva's story.
At the age of 15, Eva lives in the provincial town of Junín, and longs for a better life in Buenos Aires. She persuades a tango singer, Agustín Magaldi, with whom she is having an affair, to take her to the city. After Magaldi leaves her, she goes through several relationships with increasingly influential men, becoming a model, actress and radio personality. She meets Colonel Juan Perón at a fundraiser following the 1944 San Juan earthquake. Perón's connection with Eva adds to his populist image, since they are both from the working class. Eva has a radio show during Perón's rise and uses all of her skills to promote him, even when the controlling administration has him jailed in an attempt to stunt his political momentum. The groundswell of support that Eva generates forces the government to release Perón, and he finds the people enamored of him and Eva. Perón wins election to the presidency and marries Eva, who promises that the new government will serve the descamisados.
At the start of the Perón government, Eva dresses glamorously, enjoying the privileges of being the First Lady. Soon after, she embarks on what is called her "Rainbow Tour" of Europe. While there, she receives a mixed reception. The people of Spain adore her, the people of Italy call her a whore and throw things at her, and Pope Pius XII gives her a small, meager gift. Upon returning to Argentina, Eva establishes a foundation to help the poor. The film suggests the Perónists otherwise plunder the public treasury.
Eva is hospitalized and learns that she has terminal cancer. She declines the position of Vice President due to her failing health, and makes one final broadcast to the people of Argentina. She understands that her life was short because she shone like the "brightest fire", and helps Perón prepare to go on without her. A large crowd surrounds the Casa Rosada in a candlelight vigil praying for her recovery when the light of her room goes out, signifying her death. At Eva's funeral, Ché is seen at her coffin, marveling at the influence of her brief life. He walks up to her glass coffin, kisses it, and joins the crowd of passing mourners”.
“Dropping any pretense of comedy or devil-may-care charm, Madonna got serious for the starring role in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. Her voice is totally on point throughout the film, and her performance as the rags-to-riches Eva Peron is similarly effective. Thanks in great part to the empathy and restraint she brought to the role, Madge earned a Golden Globe win for best actress: musical motion picture or comedy”.