Desperately Seeking Susan **** (1985, Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn, Mark Blum, Robert Joy, Laurie Metcalf, Steven Wright) – Classic Movie Review 5968

Director Susan Seidelman’s 1985 hit neo screwball comedy Desperately Seeking Susan is a delicious, offbeat romantic comedy adventure starring Rosanna Arquette as the fed-up housewife Roberta Glass who investigates a puzzling series of personal ads and creates all kinds of chaos. Roberta wakes up with amnesia after an accident and is mistaken for the free-spirited drifter whose name she has seen in a paper’s frequent personal ads as ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’.

It is one of Arquette’s best, most iconic performances, so it is bad luck that she is slightly upstaged by Madonna as the wisecracking, streetwise New York City hustler of the title. The tagline is very helpful telling the plot: ‘Roberta is desperate to be Susan. Susan is wanted by the mob. The mob finds Roberta instead.’

Written by Leora Barish, Desperately Seeking Susan is a fresh, feminist fantasy film, with a rich, satirical screenplay and ultra confident direction. Now with the added period aroma fragrance of the Eighties, it comes at you like a breath of fresh air.

It may be edited for it strong language on TV.

Also in the cast are Aidan Quinn, Mark Blum, Robert Joy, Laurie Metcalf, Steven Wright, John Lurie, John Turturro, Richard Edson, Anna Levine, Will Patton, Peter Maloney, Anne Carlisle, José Santana, Giancarlo Esposito, Richard Hell, Rockets Redglare and Daisy Bradford.

Eddy Galland, David Kellman and Robert Shafran, the triplets featured in the documentary Three Identical Strangers (2018), have a cameo in the film.

Desperately Seeking Susan is directed by Susan Seidelman, runs 105 minutes, is made by Orion Pictures, is released by Orion Pictures (US) and Rank (UK), is written by Leora Barish, is shot by Edward Lachman, is produced by Michael Peyser (executive producer), Sarah Pillsbury and Midge Sanford, is scored by Thomas Newman, and is designed by Santo Loquasto.

It cost $4,500,000 and earned $27,398,500 at the US box office.

Bruce Willis auditioned for but failed to win the role of Madonna’s boyfriend. In 1987 Madonna turned down the lead in Blind Date because director Blake Edwards refused to replace Willis with her husband Sean Penn.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5968

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