Madonna: Truth or Dare

This is a wonderful documentary. It shows the ups and downs of being a rock star. Essential to fans.

Between 1987 and 1993, Madonna underwent the most controversial period of her life. This documentary highlights one of the most notorious events right in the midst of that period of controversy: her 1990 "Blond Ambition" tour, which spanned four months and took place in Japan, North America, and Europe. The tour was way ahead of its time, featuring innovative music, tour-de-force dance moves, magnificent sets, and dazzling costumes designed by French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. It turned out to be arguably the best concert ever (certainly Madonna's best concert to date). At the same time, the tour was considered blasphemous for involving the use of religious images and symbols, and it was called racy because of simulated sexual acts that were performed on stage.

What's noteworthy about this documentary is that it shows a behind-the-scenes look at, not just the tour, but also Madonna's life during the tour's run. On stage (and backstage) she's a hard and demanding diva. Yet, this film enables viewers to see another side of Madonna, who according to Warren Beatty, doesn't want to live off-camera. You get to see Madonna surrounded by different people: her entourage, her family, and other celebrities...but you also get to see her all by herself in some scenes. In one scene you hear someone compare Madonna to a little girl lost in a storm. One can only wonder if Madonna, who although is the biggest star in the world, could be the loneliest person in the world. I saw this documentary when it played in theaters, back in 1991, and it was great to see it on the big screen. I especially enjoyed seeing the scenes of the actual concert. I now own this film on DVD. This documentary was definitely the perfect medium with which to immortalize the then-controversial, pre-motherhood Madonna at the height of her career.

At one point in "Truth or Dare," Madonna confesses to one of her dancers that she is neither a great dancer nor a great singer. The concert footage throughout the film indicates that she is not engaging in false humility. Her dancing is awkward and her singing merely pleasant. But do not be deceived for the woman does have talent. Toward the end of this piece of imitation cinema verite, Madonna demonstrates her "technique" on a bottle of Vichi water, pumping the neck in and out of her mouth before tilting her head back to swallow a gush of liquid. Yes, this seems to be where Madonna Ciccone's true talent lies but, as is the case with her musical abilities, it would seem Madonna is still a pretender. When interviewed by actress Carrie Fisher in Rolling Stone a few years ago, the world's most famous female sex symbol confessed that she doesn't perform the act she demonstrated in "Truth or Dare" because she's afraid of choking to death. Hmm. Is there anything genuine about this woman?

I must say I enjoy watching the scantily clad Madonna prance around the stage, and I even enjoy some of her music. "Live to Tell," her theme for former hubby Sean Penn's film "At Close Range" is quite lovely, and "Like a Prayer" has a nice dramatic feel. But I suspect that everybody, even her most devoted fans, realize that Madonna is a cultural phenomenon for reasons that have little to do with music. To be a phenomenon for whatever reason is no small feat, of course, but in the future I predict that her "performances" will be reduced to mere artifacts of little value on their own. They have all the substance of a presidential candidate's campaign buttons.

Poor Kevin Costner turns up backstage at one of Madonna's L.A. concerts and, after thanking her for the invite, declares her show "neat," a word that causes Madonna to stuff her fingers in her throat to feign vomiting. Because it gives the audience a backstage view of this shallow but provocative woman, "Truth or Dare" is kind of "neat." Like "Gimme Shelter," the documentary about the Rolling Stones, and "This is Elvis," it stands on its own as a film that can prove interesting even to viewers who are not fans of the subject.

Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)

**** (out of 4)

Madonna's "Blonde Ambition" tour is followed in this documentary, which gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the star and the tour.

Even if you're not a fan of Madonna, it's pretty hard not to really enjoy this documentary on a number of levels but the biggest thing is that it really is extremely well-made. Director Alek Keshishian has really created a rather unique and original look at an artist doing their thing while trying to hold everything together.

Many people have accused this film as being fake or saying that Madonna was acting up in front of the camera. This has been happening since Bob Dylan's DON'T LOOK BACK and it has happened countless times since this film was originally released. I think what makes DON'T LOOK BACK and MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE so terrific is the fact that the two artists know how to play the camera and they both did it perfectly.

There's a lot of stuff going on here and the film really did a terrific job at showing you how chaotic life on the road can be. We see the tour through Japan, the United States, Canada and Europe and we see as Madonna struggles at times with relationships, her strength and having to face other demons. The documentary does a terrific job at showing what type of physical demand Madonna had on her night after night and the backstage access was just really fun and interesting.

Madonna's relationship with Warren Beatty is on display here and we see other celebrities including Kevin Costner, Al Pacino and Antonio Bandera. The film and Madonna have a lot to say about the celebrity worship and everything that comes along with it. Other great moments include a concert in Toronto where the police show up threatening to arrest the singer as well as another moment where she meets with her father after a hometown gig.

MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE is also beautifully shot and I loved the director's decision to show the backstage stuff in B&W and keeping the concert footage in color.

As a simple concert video, this one is above average. But the title is very misleading. First let's deal with the 'truth' aspect. Madonna's friends pop in on her - Warren Beatty, Sandra Bernhart - but you get little in the way of glimpses into her relationships with others. You see Madonna playing Mother Hen to her backup performers, but you get the sense that she isn't very close to any of them. Thus, even though this is supposed to be an expose of Madonna's true private life, there is so little of this on screen that the audience is denied a genuine insider's view. And when Madonna deals with the business aspects of her tour, the boardroom door closes on the camera and the audience. This aspect of the life of a performer so well known for her product-image management might potentially be the most fascinating part of the tour, but the audience is kept outside. And compared to some of what Madonna has done on the screen, this is so far below her usual standards of shock as to hardly qualify as 'daring'. It is worth a watch, but beware of a stretching of the 'truth' when it comes to packaging.