In 1987 Madonna had already been a massive pop music star for four years. She blasted onto Billboard's music charts like a cannon and she hasn't stopped since. Yeah, over 30 years. If you think this relative to actors, she should look something like Katherine Hepburn circa "On Golden Pond." That's just not Madonna.
This movie is Madonna's "Philadelphia Story." Even has a tiger. The story is of Nikki Finn (so much for my idea of having the first Nikki in any movie) who has been recently released from prison. A wealthy lawyer by the name of Simon Worthington has charged his soon to be son-in-law named Loudon Trott (Griffin Dunne) to drive this ex-con to Philly and makes sure she gets on a bus. A simple request. However, it's Madonna. And, is a wild one. She is exactly that 80's ADHD girl that steals and justifies it. Reckless but talks herself out of trouble from police. And drags an uptight stiff like Loudon to her mis-adventures. Thus also insuring they fall in love. The adventure also gets sidetracked when Nikki needs to find some thugs that have the information leading to her exoneration for her crime she says she was unjustly incarcerated for. Yeah, the logic is fatally flawed.
The biggest mistake this movie made pretending Madonna is anything but a pain in the ass. The thing is, she is NO Katherine Hepburn. And that's what this screwball comedy was attempting to be. The other problem is they don't do madcap enough. In fact there are some painfully dumb jokes at the expensive of the hoity-toity fiancee Wendy Worthington (Haviland Morris).
Though the zaniness is uneven, there are more laughs in this film than anything made today. This relied heavily on personality, and though Madonna is terrible, Griffin Dunne desperately makes up for a few drops. With the history behind the making of this film, I understand the difficulties of dealing with uncooperative talent. I understand, but I certainly don't approve. This was at a time when she and Sean Penn were going through wild times (most likely substance based). This translates in Madonna's onscreen persona.
The movie isn't as terrible as the critic scores give it. But I understand this was at a time when people really held the comedy bar high. And they tried desperately (seeking susan) to make it work. A valiant effort, derailed by, what I can only assume, was coke written silliness.
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