''Desperately Seeking Susan'' is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film ''The Executioner's Song'' (1982), and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor who made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984). He has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), ''Stakeout'' (1987), ''Aval ...

and Madonna. Set in New York City, the plot involves the interaction between two women – a bored housewife and a bohemian drifter – linked by various messages in the personals section of a newspaper. The film was Madonna's first major screen role and also provided early roles for a number of other well-known performers, such as

John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...

Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is best known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series '' Breaking Bad'', from 2009 to 2011, and in its prequel series ''Better ...

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

and Steven Wright. The screenplay was written by Leora Barish, and is said to have been given an uncredited rewrite by Craig Bolotin. ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' was a commercial success and ended as the fifth-highest grossing film of the year grossing $27.3 million in the United States. The film received predominantly positive reviews, and both Arquette and Madonna's acting were critically acclaimed. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' named it one of the ten best films of 1985.

Plot

Roberta Glass, an unfulfilled housewife in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...

, is fascinated by messages between lovers Susan Thomas and Jim Dandy in the personals section of a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

tabloid, particularly a section from Jim with the headline “Desperately Seeking Susan”, seeking a rendezvous in

Battery Park The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to ...

. In an Atlantic City hotel, the itinerant Susan reads the section after a tryst with mobster Bruce Meeker. She steals a pair of ornate

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian earrings from his coat before departing; the sinister Wayne Nolan notices Susan's embellished

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...

jacket as she leaves. Arriving in New York City, Susan dons one of the earrings, stashing the other in her suitcase in a Port Authority locker. She asks to stay with her friend Crystal, a magician's assistant at the Magic Club, and learns Meeker was killed at the hotel. Hoping to spot the lovers, Roberta goes to Battery Park and sees Jim reunite with Susan before leaving with his band for Buffalo. Roberta follows Susan to a vintage store, watching her trade in her jacket before losing sight of her, and buys the jacket. Finding Susan's locker key in the pocket of the jacket, she posts another “Desperately Seeking Susan” column to meet with her to return it. Concerned about the column and Susan's connection to Meeker's death, Jim asks his best friend Dez to check on her. Waiting for Susan at Battery Park and wearing her jacket, Roberta is accosted by Nolan, mistaking her for Susan because she's blonde and wearing the distinctive jacket. Susan spots Roberta, but can't reach her as police chase her for not paying her taxicab fare. Dez arrives on a moped and rescues Roberta, who falls and hits her head, losing her memory and her bag. Dez believes she is Susan and, finding the locker key, he takes her to the Port Authority to collect Susan's suitcase. She finds the other earring, and Dez says she can stay at his apartment for one night. Believing she must be Susan, Roberta retraces Susan's steps with Nolan in pursuit. She arrives at the Magic Club – narrowly missing Susan, who has been released from jail and discovered her suitcase gone – and is hired as Crystal's replacement. After Roberta's disastrous first performance, Nolan attacks her, demanding the earrings, but he escapes as the police arrive. Roberta hits her head again, regaining her memory, but is mistaken for a prostitute and arrested. Meanwhile, searching for Roberta, her husband Gary, who is revealed to be in the midst of a casual affair, finds his way to the vintage store and is put in touch with Susan, who believes Roberta and Dez are connected to Meeker's death and want to frame her. Susan arranges to meet Gary at a dance club and accompanies him home, where they get high. Roberta calls from jail, but hangs up when Susan and Gary answer. After calling Dez to bail her out, they find his apartment ransacked by Nolan, and sleep together. At Gary's house, Susan sees a television report about Meeker and Nolan having stolen the earrings, once belonging to

Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in which ...

. She realizes the truth from Roberta's diary, and posts a column to meet her at the Magic Club. Dez attacks an intruder in his apartment who turns out to be Jim, and confesses to his relationship with “Susan” as Roberta slips away. She reads the column, as do Jim and Dez; they arrive at the Magic Club, along with Gary, his sister Leslie, and Nolan. During her act, Roberta recognizes Nolan, who escapes backstage. Dez leaves as Roberta tries to explain the events of her disappearance to Gary, finally voicing her unhappiness and ending their marriage. Nolan threatens Susan at gunpoint, but is knocked out by Roberta. There, Roberta and Susan finally meet each other for the first time. Later, Roberta finds Dez in a projection booth at the movie theater where he works. She introduces herself once again and they kiss, as Jim and Susan reunite in the theater below. The closing frames show Roberta and Susan celebrated as heroes in the newspaper and credited with returning the stolen earrings.

Cast

as Roberta Glass *

as Dez *

Robert Joy Robert Joy (born August 17, 1951) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as medical examiner Sid Hammerback on the police procedural series ''CSI: NY'', and his appearances in the films ''Atlantic City'' (1980), ''Ragtime'' (1981), '' ...

as Jim Dandy, Susan's boyfriend * Mark Blum as Gary Glass, Roberta's husband *

as Leslie Glass, Roberta's sister-in-law *

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films ''Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon'' ...

as Wayne Nolan * Madonna as Susan Thomas * Anna Levine as Crystal * Peter Maloney as Ian, a magician * Steven Wright as Larry Stillman D.D.S. *

as Ray, the master of ceremonies at the Magic Club * Anne Carlisle as Victoria * José Angel Santana (as Jose Santana) as Boutique Owner *

as Street Vendor *

Richard Hell Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and ...

as Bruce Meeker Seidelman employed a wide range of artists in small appearances, including comedian

Rockets Redglare Rockets Redglare (born Michael Morra; May 8, 1949 – May 28, 2001) was an American character actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in over 30 films in the 1980s and 1990s, including a number of independent films and mainstream films, such ...

as a taxi driver; former member of the Shirts Annie Golden as a band singer; performance artist Ann Magnuson as a cigarette girl; musician and painter

John Lurie John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including ''Stranger than Paradise'' and '' Down by Law''; has composed ...

as the neighbor saxophonist; La Mama and Living Theatre member Shirley Stoler as a jail matron;

Ambitious Lovers Ambitious Lovers were a musical duo composed of guitarist/singer Arto Lindsay and keyboardist Peter Scherer, active from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Their music incorporated elements from Brazilian music and funk. Despite strong reviews from ...

member

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation '' No New York''. I ...

as the newspaper clerk who places the "seeking" ads; and future Seinfeld-writer

Carol Leifer Carol Leifer ( ; born July 27, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actress whose career as a stand-up comedian started in the 1970s when she was in college. She has written many television scripts including ''The Larry Sanders ...

as a party guest. Other notable appearances include actors

Richard Edson Richard Edson (born January 1, 1954) is an American actor and musician. Personal life Edson was born in New Rochelle, New York to a Jewish family. He has one brother, Steven, who resides in the Boston area, and two sisters, Andrea, who resides ...

as a man with newspapers,

Victor Argo Victor Argo (November 5, 1934 – April 7, 2004) was an American actor of Puerto Rican descent who usually played the part of a tough bad guy in his movies. He had a career span of forty years. He is best known for '' Mean Streets'' (1973), ...

as Sgt. Taskal,

Kim Chan Kim Chan (December 28, 1917 – October 5, 2008) was a Chinese–American actor and producer. He was most notable for his roles as Lo Si, a.k.a. The Ancient, in '' Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'' and Mr. Kim in ''The Fifth Element''. Early ...

as a park bum, and

Michael Badalucco Michael Badalucco (born December 20, 1954) is an American actor. He made his screen debut in the film ''Raging Bull'' (1980) and subsequently appeared in many films such as ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' Miller's Crossing'' (1990), ''Ju ...

as a guy from Brooklyn. Triplets Eddy, David and Robert make an uncredited cameo as themselves.

Production

The filmmakers initially wanted

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...

and

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...

to play Roberta and Susan, but the director decided to cast newcomers Arquette and Madonna instead and the studio wanted the movie to have younger actors in order to appeal to younger filmgoers.

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

was up for the role of Dez and

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...

was up for the role of Susan. Madonna barely obtained the role over Ellen Barkin and

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). Sh ...

. Suzanne Vega also auditioned for the role. The Statue of Liberty can be seen in the movie when it was still covered in scaffolding during its two-year renovation. Costume designer

Santo Loquasto Santo Richard Loquasto (born July 26, 1944) is an American production designer, scenic designer, and costume designer for stage, film, and dance. His work has included the films ''Big'', ''Radio Days'', '' Cafe Society'', ''Blue Jasmine'', ''D ...

designed Susan's distinctive jacket (supposedly first worn by Jimi Hendrix), basis of the plot of mistaken identity. The movie was inspired in part by the movie '' Céline et Julie vont en bateau'' (''Céline and Julie Go Boating'') (1974). It also has an alternate ending included on the DVD, in which Susan and Roberta are invited to Egypt after helping return the earrings. They are depicted next to the

pyramids A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

on camels. Seidelman cut this scene, saying that it was unnecessary and audiences at the test screenings thought the film should have already ended much earlier (as explained on the DVD). The science fiction film '' The Time Travelers'' (1964) is playing in scenes 6 and 23 (melts at the movie's ending). All the scenes featuring Dez working as a projectionist were filmed at

Bleecker Street Cinema The Bleecker Street Cinema was an art house movie theater located at 144 Bleecker Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It became a landmark of Greenwich Village and an influential venue for filmmakers and cinephiles through its screenings ...

. The scene with Roberta and Gary in their kitchen shows Roberta watching Alfred Hitchcock's '' Rebecca'' (1940). The movie was filmed during the late summer and early fall of 1984, early in Madonna's rise to popularity, and was intended to be an R-rated feature. After the success of her 1984–85 hits " Like a Virgin" and "

Material Girl "Material Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her second studio album, '' Like a Virgin'' (1984). It was released on November 30, 1984, by the Sire label as the second single from ''Like a Virgin''. It also appears slightly ...

" from her '' Like a Virgin'' album, the movie was trimmed in content by Orion Pictures to get a PG-13 rating in order to also market the film to Madonna's teenage fanbase. The interior and exterior shots of The Magic Club were filmed at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. Some scenes were filmed at

Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from 1979 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous locat ...

, a club that Madonna frequented and which gave her a start in the music business. Separated-at-birth triplets Robert Shafran, Eddy Galland and David Kellman have a cameo role, reportedly at Madonna's personal invitation.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on both vinyl and CD together with the soundtrack to the film ''

Making Mr. Right ''Making Mr. Right'' is a 1987 American science fiction film, science fiction romantic comedy, romantic comedy film directed by Susan Seidelman; starring John Malkovich as Jeff Peters/Ulysses and Ann Magnuson as Frankie Stone. This film is primar ...

''. The soundtrack does not feature any of the other songs in the film including Madonna's "

Into the Groove "Into the Groove" is a song by recorded by American singer Madonna, and featured on the 1985 film ''Desperately Seeking Susan''. Written and produced by both Madonna and Stephen Bray, the main inspiration behind the song was the dance floor; the ...

", which can be found on the European 1985 re-release of '' Like a Virgin''. The film captures the feel of the underground Bohemian/ new wave scene of the early to mid-1980s New York City, a scene that helped Madonna get her big break in the music business. Madonna recorded a song for the movie, titled "Desperately Seeking Susan". It ended up not being used in the film, and a demo she just finished at the time called "Into the Groove" was used instead. The demo version can only be heard in the movie. The song was a huge commercial success but was not included on the film's soundtrack, despite being heard in the film, because licensing restrictions involving Madonna's record label prohibited her songs from being mixed in with other artists. The video for "Into the Groove" consists of clips from the film compiled by Doug Dowdle of Parallax Productions.

Critical reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has rating of 84% based on 31 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads; "''Desperately Seeking Susan'' works with its fairy tale depiction of New York and the fun, frothy chemistry generated by its two leads." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

it has a score of 71% based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In her review for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', critic

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

referred to Madonna as "an indolent, trampy goddess." ''

'' film critic

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

named the film as one of the 10 best films of 1985. Roger Ebert of ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' gave the film 3 stars out of a possible 4, saying it was essentially a

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characteristi ...

, which "bopped around New York, introducing us to unforgettable characters". Rosanna Arquette won the

BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film. This award ...

for her portrayal of Roberta; that the award was for a "supporting role" reflected the surge in popularity that Madonna was experiencing at the time, since in terms of billing, number of scenes, lines of dialogue, and plot, Arquette was the film's lead. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. Madonna also received positive reviews for her portrayal of Susan. In 2022, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' named it the 67th greatest movie of the 80s, calling it "a classic of its particular era".

Box office

The film was released on March 29, 1985 in the United States, and grossed $1,526,098 in its first weekend. It was a commercial success, making $27,398,584 in the United States. The film was released on September 6, 1985 in the United Kingdom, and grossed £1,175,133 in its first weekend. Its total gross in the United Kingdom was £2,331,907. It also became the most successful Orion Pictures film in Europe at that point.

Stage musical

The film was developed into a stage musical that premiered at London's

Novello Theatre The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. History The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Wald ...

on November 15, 2007, following previews from October 16, 2007. It features music and lyrics by Blondie and

Deborah Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

, including a new song written especially for the show. The production was directed by Angus Jackson, with book and concept by Peter Michael Marino and sets and costumes by Tim Hatley. Produced by Susan Gallin, Ron Kastner, Mark Rubinstein and

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

productions, the musical starred Emma Williams as Susan,

Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. She started her singing career in 1992. Price originally garnered attention by singing backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her ''Billboar ...

as Roberta, and Steven Houghton as Alex. Marino presented his solo comedy ''Desperately Seeking the Exit'', which is based on his experiences, at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

References

External links

* * * *
Desperately Seeking Susan – The Musical
{{Susan Seidelman 1985 films 1985 comedy-drama films 1985 independent films 1985 romantic comedy films 1980s comedy mystery films 1980s English-language films American comedy-drama films American comedy mystery films American romantic comedy films Films about amnesia Films directed by Susan Seidelman Films scored by Thomas Newman Films set in a movie theatre Films set in New York City Films set in New Jersey Films shot in New York City Films shot in New Jersey Orion Pictures films Adultery in films 1980s American films