Profile: The Cinema of Madonna

Madonna is (was, depends on who you ask) at one point considered one of the biggest pop stars in the world, so it came as no surprise when she decided to try her hand at acting. I’m no person to criticize another person’s acting ability (particularly when I have crippling stage fright), but I’m just perplexed about how her films were critical and commercial disasters. If she was one of the biggest pop stars of her time, why didn’t her film career match that same success?

Where did the Material Girl go wrong?

Getting ‘Into The Groove’

In 1985 Madonna had a supporting role in her film debut Desperately Seeking Susan.  It stars Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn and Madonna. This film has such a convoluted plot, it is nearly impossible to explain the premise of it without confusing you further; so, I’ll just give you a quick summary.

Arquette plays a lonely housewife urgently trying to find a way to break the vicious cycle of boredom. One day, she spots a personal ad in the newspaper appropriately titled ‘Desperately Seeking Susan.’ She then goes to the rendezvous spot, and tries to meet up with the guy who placed the ad. For the rest of the film we see Arquette’s character getting into all kinds of wacky business. At one point she gets amnesia and starts to believe she’s Susan (played by Madonna of course.) Then she meets a guy named Dez played by Aidan Quinn; and by this point in the movie you’re just wondering where the heck Madonna is, and why in the world did she get top billing if she is only in seen in the film for about twenty minutes.

Anyways, Desperately Seeking Susan grossed well over its budget and had favorable reviews from critics and the public alike. Madonna actually had a solid performance in this; other than the horrible convoluted plot that just leads to an expected climax, I quite enjoyed her performance.

But that enjoyment didn’t last long.

Shanghai Surprise

Shanghai Surprise was a horrible excuse for a film directed by Jim Goddard, and it stars Sean Penn, Paul Freeman and Madonna. I actually had the “privilege” of watching this film more than once and I think it’s safe to say that it certainly was no Casablanca. Unlike Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna had a leading role in this travesty; similarly to the aforementioned film, the plot is just as confusing.

Madonna plays a plays a missionary (try to wrap your head around that one) named Gloria Tatlock who meets a man named Glendon Wasey, played by Penn. Gloria hires Glen to help her find something called Farday’s Flowers. For the duration of the movie, as a viewer, you’re left confused and angry at yourself for watching this trainwreck.

The plot is the biggest reason why this movie failed. As I said before, it took me multiple viewings to actually get a sense of what Goddard was trying to go for. Madonna was horribly miscast; having her play a missionary should have been a red flag. This is a woman who would publish a book named S.E.X. and will go on to release an album titled Erotica just six years later. I don’t think you should cast her in a role where she’s supposed to be doing God’s good work.

The whole production was also in shambles. From the first day of shooting you had actors dropping out at the last second only to be replaced a few hours later. Sean Penn was also going through the violent stage of his career (which lead to the breakup of their marriage). Finally, there were the deplorable living conditions that the cast and crew had to suffer through while shooting on site in Hong Kong. Shanghai Surprise did poorly at the box office and left a bad taste in the mouths of both the public and critics alike.

Dick Tracy

The next two films Madonna starred in are more or less forgettable ones. Who’s That Girl, the romantic comedy directed by James Foley, and the musical Bloodhounds of Broadway, directed by Howard Brookner, were both huge critical and commercial failures. At this point in her career, she was a global superstar. It was 1989, and her album Like A Prayer was released, which was controversial to say the least. It was soon apparent that her film career took a backseat to her number one priority: music.

That all changed when a man in a yellow trenchcoat came knocking at her door.

Dick Tracy is directed by and stars Warren Beatty, his then girlfriend Madonna and also Al Pacino. The film is basically a retelling of the classic comic book series ‘Dick Tracy’ from the 1930’s and 40’s. Madonna plays Breathless Mahoney, a cabaret singer who is a little too hands on with our titular character.

Madonna’s performance was tailor made for her. She was the perfect mix of sexy and annoying (that seems to be a common theme in her career – go figure.) If you ever happen to stumble upon this film, you have Warren Beatty to thank for genuinely making the film a truly interesting experience.

When the film was released, though, it was probably one of the biggest letdowns in cinema history. The marketing for it was definitely out there. The studio was hoping to match the success of Tim Burton’s Batman that came out the year before, but it wasn’t quite there. That’s why it’s such a letdown that the movie didn’t really live up to all of its hype. The audience wanted to like it, but it just wasn’t that good. It received moderate reviews from most critics but had a pretty significant gain at the box office; it even managed to pick up three Academy Awards.

It seems as if the public didn’t like Madonna in leading roles, and with good reason.

“There’s No Crying In Baseball!”

A League Of Their Own is directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Lori Petty. The film tells a fictional story about the life of the women who played in the real life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League or AAGPBL. The movie grossed well over $130 million at the box office and in 2012 was added to the United States National Film Registry. There is a reason why this is the most successful film Madonna has ever done.

Like Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna had a supporting role, which usually means she wasn’t as prominently featured compared to the likes of Geena Davis or Tom Hanks. And I think that’s a good thing.

Madonna, I think, does best when she isn’t in a leading role. It takes the attention off of her and I believe that helps her to give a credible performance. For anyone who hasn’t seen A League of Their Own, I highly recommend it. It is a modern classic, and I suggest you give it a go.

“Don’t Cry For Me Argentina!”

After that success, Madonna would go on to make two commercially panned erotic dramas that tried to cash in on the Hollywood’s Basic Instinct phase: Body of Evidence, directed by Uli Edel and Dangerous Game, directed by Abel Ferrera. You’re honestly better off watching Basic Instinct instead; it’s one of my many guilty pleasures – I mean, at least that has Sharon Stone.

In 1996 Madonna rebounded with her Golden Globe winning part in Evita. The film is the motion picture adaption of the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical of the same name. It is about Eva Peron, and how her death at the young age of 33 deeply affected the people of Argentina. Co-starring Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce, the total gross of the film surpassed its budget and then some.

After this, Madonna would only go on to do a few more films: The Next Best Thing, Swept Away and the animated film Arthur and The Invisibles.

Her First Love

After a time, it seems as if Madonna’s film career just fizzled out. The last film she was involved in was the period piece W.E., in which she directed and won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

Naturally, she went back to her first love: music. She was a solid actress, and quite frankly I do wish she would’ve done more roles in her prime. I suppose when you have one bomb after another, it’s very difficult to get discouraged after that curtain of negativity. Or maybe she was just too busy in her music career. Truth be told, I am a sucker for 80’s Madonna. There was just something about her during that time that she’ll never be able to recapture. At least we have her movies to look back on.

Why do you think Madonna’s film career flopped so heavily? Let me know in the comments!

(top image source: Evita (1996) – source: Hollywood Pictures)