Review of Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) by Mikhail B — 29 Aug 2011

Mistaken identity and amnesia cause a plain housewife to trade lives with a mercurial punk rocker.

I think the draw of this film is the cultural milieu it captured. The 80s punk scene is personified by Madonna's Susan, and I can see why some would find the depiction appealing. After all, such counter-culture movements were, and are, portrayed in negative terms, and there's no judgment in this film: infidelity, random sexual escapades, and a odd fashion sense are all upheld. If anything, the establishment is the villain.

But the film is a pile of stinking cliches. Amnesia and mistaken identity are about the oldest ploys I can think of, and it's not hard to predict who ends up with whom. And Madonna's performance doesn't evince a real character, a complete person; rather, she's just a stand-in for the cultural movement she represents.

Overall, Desperately Seeking Susan, a title that makes me want to defend adverbs, is a film-by-numbers cliche, but there are a few minor redeeming qualities.