Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

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Rosanna Arquette stars as a bored New Jersey housewife who becomes infatuated with Susan (Madonna), a nomadic woman she’s never met who uses the newspaper personal ads to keep up with her boyfriend. When one of the ads mentions a time and place to meet up, Arquette spies on them and ends up being mistaken for Susan after hitting her head and getting amnesia. The amnesia becomes a mixed blessing, introducing elements of Madonna’s lifestyle into Arquette’s new beginning. The good news is that a dashing Aiden Quinn (Legends of the Fall) begins to fall in love with her. The bad news is that there are mobsters looking to retrieve a hot item Madonna stole from them.

Desperately Seeking Susan is an over-plotted movie that’s never funny enough to be an outright comedy. It’s also too serendipitous to take seriously as a drama. But director Susan Seidelman counterbalances with great casting and use of locations. Arquette does a commendable job with an awkwardly written part, and the film makes good use of Madonna’s nascent acting abilities. Aidan Quinn gives the movie’s best performance, reluctantly falling in love with a woman who doesn’t really know who she is. In some ways, New York’s East Village is the real star of the movie. From beach fronts to hip stores, old movie theaters and hole-in-the-wall magic acts, Seidelman turns New York City into something of a fantasy land — a potent contrast to Arquette’s tidy suburban home.

The cast are almost good enough to compete with the screenplay’s imposing machinery, but the machinery wins in the end. A more character-driven version of this ‘Prince and the Pauper’ story would surely leave a bigger impression.

With Laurie Metcalf, Mark Blum, Robert Joy, Will Patton, and John Turturro.