Who's That Girl (1987)

Petty criminal Nikki Finn (Madonna) is paroled after 4 years in prison. She intends to find who had framed her. Loudon Trott (Griffin Dunne) needs to deliver an exotic animal for real estate mogul Montgomery Bell. He also has to prepare for his wedding to boss's daughter Wendy Worthington. His boss is the one responsible for Nikki's frame up and directs him to drive her to the bus station on her way home out of town. Nikki has no intention of getting on the bus. The cops haven't abandoned the case either.

Madonna is trying very hard to be wacky. She's not accomplished enough as a comedian to pull it off especially as a lead. I can see this shtick working as a supporting character. It's too awkward and she overwhelms the screen. It doesn't really make sense that Worthington would direct Loudon to drive Nikki. He should be hiring someone to follow her and call her parole officer when she fails to get on the bus. Logic is not that important anyways. It's all an excuse for flustered Griffin Dunne to be paired with wacky Madonna. It's a wacky and not funny screwball adventure.

Fmovies: I love this movie!! Sure I love it because of Madonna but who cares - it's damn funny!!! *ALANiS Rocks*. When I first saw this film in the theatres back in 1987, I thought it was all out hilarious! Madonna is so funny and I love her dubbed accent and wacky/funky look. The all-time funniest part is when Madonna(Nikki) screams at a man who is about to get into a taxi. And also when Griffin Dunne(Louden)trips and falls at the apartment interview scene. **ALANiS Rocks**. Madonna's character Nikki steals/shop lifts and fools people throughout the whole movie - her hilarious antics are enough to keep you on the floor the whole time. "Didn't rob nothin', when you rob a store you stick up the cashier. We busted a few tapes, there's a bit of a difference" I love that!!! It's classic. ***ALANiS Rocks***. I don't know why this movie got slammed the way it did. I see nothing wrong with it - course maybe if you're a huge Madonna fan then whatever she does is just awesome. Anyone out there who wants to see some funny, classic entertainment then watch "Who's That Girl?" And another very important fact that of which should be known to all man kind or at least to all that exist, ALANiS will always "rock ya" completely to the end! So does Madonna in this film, and just entirely! Her acting is superb!

I kid you not. Yes, "Who's That Girl" has the distinction for being one in a string of Madonna's films that bombed, but I actually liked this movie more than "Desperately Seeking Susan". In "Susan", Madonna's character is relegated to being second-fiddle to Rosanna Arquette and is not given much to work with. No disrespect to Rosanna, but in WTG Madonna plays this zany, outrageous character, only done in an 80s style. While it may seem "cheesy" today, this is actually one of Madonna's best and one of her most underrated films.

Madonna plays Nikki Finn, an ex-con who is sent to the slammer for a crime she didn't commit. She's being released from jail after four years of good behavior. Griffin Dunne, who is also a very underrated actor, plays Louden Trott, a lawyer who has the unpleasant task of picking her up from jail to take her to the bus station. Of course, when these two get together, that's when the madness happens. Sir John Mills has a small role as the rich businessman who has a huge mansion in the middle of Manhattan with a rainforest(???) on his roof.

This movie parodies everything. Rich people, the sleazy characters who live in Harlem and totally destroy Louden's Rolls-Royce, the gay cops who follow Madonna and Dunne around town, and Dunne's stuck-up fiance Wendy Worthington who has purportedly slept with every cab driver in New York City (played by Haviland Morris, who was Jake's girlfriend Caroline in Sixteen Candles). Hilarious! Plus, Dunne is also in charge of a rare breed of leopard reminiscent of "Bringing Up Baby". Plus, Madonna had a great platinum blonde 80s look back in those days and the movie has a great soundtrack. Throw this all into the mix and you have the zaniness of WTG.

Madonna is the queen of deadpan acting. There are times in the movie where she says a line totally straight and surprisingly, it turns out to be funny! That's how some of the best comedy should be played - straight. Madonna should have done more comedy and it was a shame that she did not choose to do so. Later on she became much more controversial and got into more of the dark, sexually-charged roles in the notorious movies "Body of Evidence" and "Dangerous Game".

Some people say Madonna cannot act, and that is fine, people are entitled to their opinion, but I believe the real problem is that people cannot see the difference between Madonna playing a character on film, instead they still see only Madonna and that is main reason why she is given more respect for her music than for her movies. It's still a fun, screwball comedy of the 80s. Not for everyone, I'm sure some of you will dislike it, so I would recommend it mainly for Madonna fans, but you never know, you might be surprised and like it!

Interesting note: One of Madonna's friends from her early-80s New York club days, Coati Mundi, who plays Raoul, was a member in the bands Kid Creole and The Coconuts and Savannah Band.

Who's That Girl fmovies. Before she appeared in a series of Freudian dramas (Body of Evidence, Dangerous Game, Evita), Madonna experimented with juxtaposing the Nabokovian ideal of naive nymphette (see Desperately Seeking Susan) with that of unabashed working-class sexuality. What results is a masterpiece of subtle Neo-Marxist Feminism, culminated in the character of Nikki Fin. At the onset we're forced to inquire about Nikki's identity: Really, who is that girl? Is she dressing that way intentionally? Does her sartorial behavior undermine or fuel her existential yearnings? Disguised as a comedy, Who's That Girl toys with the notion that under certain social imperatives (read capitalism reeling from Reaganomics) women must find purpose by not simply exercising hostility on their male peers, but expect social gain and subordination from their attempts. Can I recommend Who's That Girl? Wholeheartedly, I can.

I saw this movie the day it opened in NYC, at the Ziegfield. At the time Madonna was not quite the cultural icon she is now. She had a couple of hits, was very good in "Desparately Seeking Susan" and I had tickets to see her in concert at Giants Stadium.

"Who's That Girl?" gives Madonna an actual role to play, which is not just a variation of her own personality. She does the madcap/heroine routine better than you might think. Griffin Dunne is very well cast as the man around to witness all the shenanigans.

The story involves a huge cat named Murray, a bride-to-be who has slept with every cabbie in NYC, a mean father-in-law, and a key. There are a lot of car chases and cops trailing their path. All the elements of a screwball comedy intact.

Sir John Mills is seen briefly. He shares a glass of champagne with the leads and has the greatest apartment on the Upper West Side, complete with a rain forest and everything.

Compared to most Madonna movies (the ones I've been able to tolerate anyway), this is fantastic. On its own, its not that bad. 6/10.

PS The concert was lousy.

The singer / icon known as Madonna in the 1980's was Nikki Finn. The outrageous and very funny little girl with a sketchy past could only be played Madonna. Who's that Girl is a romantic comedy about two completely different who end up falling in love under the most unusual circumstances. Although its not a great comedy, the story is genuine and the acting holds up. Surprisingly, Madonna does not use her sexuality as much as she has in the past and in future films. Her funniness and charm wins over the audience. Although she is very sexy, she does not use her eye candy to draw the audience. A coming of age drama in the sense that Madonna is growing up and trying to break away from her past. In the end, the movie showcases Madonna as an actress and not the singer. Not since Desperately Seeking Susan two years before, that a film took a chance to promote Madonna off the stage (music) and onto the big screen as a comedic actress.