Who's that Girl (D+ or 1.5/4 stars)
My, oh my, this movie is not a good one. More on that later. The Girl in the title, 'Who's that Girl', directed by James Foley, is Nikki Finn (played by Madonna), a recently-paroled, bleach blind troublemaker released from prison after 4 yrs. for a trumped-up murder rap & is hell bent on clearing her name. The man tasked to escort her back to Philadelphia is one, Loudon Trout (Griffin Dunne), a hapless, uptight tax attorney/high-paid flunky to eccentric NY real estate giant, Montgomery Bell (Sir John Mills). In addition to being one the NY's richest men, Bell also collects rare animals and, one of the plot drives of this film is that the large cougar-like Patagonian Felis Concolor he has had shipped into America keeps getting lost -- and that's thanks to Nikki.
See, Nikki is, shall we say, mentally unbalanced. Loudon, who likes to stay on schedule, is supposed to marry - the next day - Wendy Worthington (Haviland Morris), the young, foolish daughter of his superior, Simon Worthington (John McMartin); though, Worthington isn't overly pleased with the prospect of Wendy marrying him. In fact, Loudon out to chaperon Nikki to Philly was Daddy Worthington's idea. All sorts of ridiculous hijinks ensue involving trains, guns, a Rolls Royce, an emergency room visit, and then a certain tragedy befalls Loudon, as well. And predictably, it all comes down to Loudon choosing btwn. Nikki & Wendy.
Ugh. The whole premise here is familiar and, though the film is 'watchable', that doesn't make it remotely good. Thanks to the 92 min. run time & some judicious pacing, this caper gets in & gets out; though, your mileage may vary on Griffin Dunne & Madonna's energetic acting. As is usually the case with comedies, I find that most start well enough & end well enough, but that the bloated midsections become highly problematic for a host of reasons and, you name it ... the problems were apparent here, too. As a romantic comedy, this movie lacks any searing romance & I barely chuckled. Just because you have rapid-fire overlapping dialogue & screwball situations {borrowing liberally here from the exceedingly superior Bringing Up Baby from 1938}, does not mean that you've got a winner of a movie, here.
Don't go into this thing expecting a plausible narrative, skilled performances {though, I've liked Griffin Dunne elsewhere}, a consistent visual style, or classy execution -- you just won't find it, here. Dunne is playful enough in his role, while Madonna is absolutely shrill; with a high octave speaking voice & affected cackle. More to that, Madonna's peroxide hair, black eye brows & overdone make-up make her - an otherwise attractive woman - quite difficult to look at throughout.
Her misadventures with Dunne are mostly just examples of sheer stupidity. Instances of physical comedy are excessive. And I didn't care for the clamorous wedding fiasco near the end, either. Director Foley did well with Madonna's then-hubby Sean Penn's At Close Range, but that was a serious drama and, he shows here that he can handle insipid, cartoonish comedy. There is talent in front of & in back of the camera, but the 'Who's that Girl' is just misconceived & tiring. You'll watch it, but likely forget it soon after. Some may dig it as a typical 80s comedy, but I found too much to loathe.
See, Nikki is, shall we say, mentally unbalanced. Loudon, who likes to stay on schedule, is supposed to marry - the next day - Wendy Worthington (Haviland Morris), the young, foolish daughter of his superior, Simon Worthington (John McMartin); though, Worthington isn't overly pleased with the prospect of Wendy marrying him. In fact, Loudon out to chaperon Nikki to Philly was Daddy Worthington's idea. All sorts of ridiculous hijinks ensue involving trains, guns, a Rolls Royce, an emergency room visit, and then a certain tragedy befalls Loudon, as well. And predictably, it all comes down to Loudon choosing btwn. Nikki & Wendy.
Ugh. The whole premise here is familiar and, though the film is 'watchable', that doesn't make it remotely good. Thanks to the 92 min. run time & some judicious pacing, this caper gets in & gets out; though, your mileage may vary on Griffin Dunne & Madonna's energetic acting. As is usually the case with comedies, I find that most start well enough & end well enough, but that the bloated midsections become highly problematic for a host of reasons and, you name it ... the problems were apparent here, too. As a romantic comedy, this movie lacks any searing romance & I barely chuckled. Just because you have rapid-fire overlapping dialogue & screwball situations {borrowing liberally here from the exceedingly superior Bringing Up Baby from 1938}, does not mean that you've got a winner of a movie, here.
Don't go into this thing expecting a plausible narrative, skilled performances {though, I've liked Griffin Dunne elsewhere}, a consistent visual style, or classy execution -- you just won't find it, here. Dunne is playful enough in his role, while Madonna is absolutely shrill; with a high octave speaking voice & affected cackle. More to that, Madonna's peroxide hair, black eye brows & overdone make-up make her - an otherwise attractive woman - quite difficult to look at throughout.
Her misadventures with Dunne are mostly just examples of sheer stupidity. Instances of physical comedy are excessive. And I didn't care for the clamorous wedding fiasco near the end, either. Director Foley did well with Madonna's then-hubby Sean Penn's At Close Range, but that was a serious drama and, he shows here that he can handle insipid, cartoonish comedy. There is talent in front of & in back of the camera, but the 'Who's that Girl' is just misconceived & tiring. You'll watch it, but likely forget it soon after. Some may dig it as a typical 80s comedy, but I found too much to loathe.