A letto con Madonna

ok, so by now you know im not a fan, as im not gushing about her in the Summary line. so i think that grants me a little more credibility...

this was not really a documentary as i envision one, mostly because she was the subject *and* executive producer -- meaning she called the shots on this film. it is therefor impossible not to paint a completely biased and self-interested picture. frankly, it's modanna propaganda (propadonna?). she knew she was making a movie about herself while she was making it... from the voice-over narrations to the staff testimonies of how "sensitive she really is", it all seemed contrived. in fact, the only real part about it were the music videos, and warren beatty (he was hilarious because he seemed so bored or disgusted of the whole thing. sardonically he humors her: "Why would you say something if it's off-camera? What..what point is there existing?"). a that being said....madonna is a terrific performer. her costumes, routines, songs, sets, and raw sexual energy just blow me away.

she's one of the privileged-few in society, but i can see why she got there.

It's 1990 on Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour. She, her circle of dancers, and performers travel from Japan to North America and all around the world. It has behind-the-scenes as well as her concert performances. There are her friends and family. Her brother is hanging around and she goes to her mother's grave. In Toronto, the cops threaten to charge her for indecency. It's mostly filmed in black and white. The thing about Madonna is one is never sure about when the performance starts and ends. I doubt she's completely faking anything but she can be overly dramatic. When cops show up in Toronto, they do imply a threat but one can see a glint in her eyes where she sees an opportunity to rally around the first amendment. There is the dancer faux boyfriend and a girl claiming rape. One can never be sure about anything with Madonna.

Nothing surprising is revealed in this documentary. Perhaps ten years ago, when the film came out, it stunned many fans and non-fans. But Madonna has remained in the spotlight ever since, and thanks to magazines, interviews, MTV, VH-1, not to mention her music, video, book and film work since 1991, we've seen most of the stuff in this documentary already. Plus, Madonna shows us only what she wants us to see. There are a few moments when the camera suddenly shuts off, like when she confesses that Sean Penn was the love of her life. She also talks about her huge crush on Antonio Banderas, and when he snubs her, she jokingly admits that she will never work with him (obviously she was kidding because she worked with him in Evita). When she's playful and in good spirits, she's fun to watch. But in the end, this is really a vanity project, instead of the completely "naked" documentary it was supposed to be. That probably suits her diehard fans just fine, but regular viewers are hoping to see more than her "attitude" backstage, long footage of her explicit onstage material, constant vulgarity, and high-maintenance daily rituals.

I do remember this one was released as In Bed with Madonna here in the UK back in the day and it made a few ripples. In fact, it became the highest grossing documentary of all time until Bowling for Columbine came along over ten years later. Having finally just seen it, I can't believe I waited until now to check it out, as this is a superb back-stage look at La Ciccone at arguably the apex of her powers. The film adopts a black and white cinéma vérité style, with colour concert footage interspersed throughout. Events take place during her 1990 'Blond Ambition Tour' which was in support of her iconic 'Like a Prayer' album.

Given that she is regarded as one who is known for controlling her career and image with an iron fist, its more than likely that she is putting up a front here and really performing as herself. Yet, this is part of who she is and you still learn a lot about Madonna here regardless. The backstage stuff is pretty priceless, with all manner of shenanigans going on, from her refusing to bow to police demands in Toronto where she is threatened with the cancellation of her show if she simulates masturbation on stage to the comical moment where a hapless (and impressively mulleted) Kevin Costner makes the epic mistake of describing her show as 'neat' (Madonna's supremely negative reaction to this is worth the price of admission alone). There is back-stage dramas with her and her crew, some diva like behaviour and several celebrity encounters. In amongst all that there is a selection of top tunes from the tour - it really does make me wish I had attended this myself (even if the nearest gig was admittedly Wembley Stadium several hundred miles away!). Anyway, this doc is a pretty good snap-shot of the 'Blond Ambition' tour/era and a genuine superstar at the height of her powers - it does go some way to illustrate how vivacious, hard-working and unique she was.

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