Who's That Girl (1987)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

James Foley

Writers:

Andrew Smith (story)
Andrew Smith (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 August 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Romance

Tagline:

A funny thing happened on the way to the bus station.

Plot:

An uptight New York tax lawyer gets his life turned upside down, all in a single day, when he's asked to escort a feisty and free-spirited female ex-convict whom asks him to help prove her innocence of her crime.

Plot Keywords:

Scam | Miscarriage Of Justice | Frame Up | False Accusation | Parole

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Madonna	...	Nikki Finn
Griffin Dunne	...	Louden Trott
Haviland Morris	...	Wendy Worthington
John McMartin	...	Simon Worthington
Bibi Besch	...	Mrs. Worthington
John Mills	...	Montgomery Bell (as Sir John Mills)
Robert Swan	...	Detective Bellson
Drew Pillsbury	...	Detective Doyle
Coati Mundi	...	Raoul
Dennis Burkley	...	Benny
James Dietz	...	Buck
Cecile Callan	...	Sandy - Wendy's Friend
Karen Elise Baldwin	...	Heather - Wendy's Friend (as Karen Baldwin)
Kimberlin Brown	...	Rachel - Wendy's Friend
Crystal Carson	...	Denise - Wendy's Friend

Also Known As:

Slammer (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:PG (cut) | Singapore:PG | UK:PG (video re-rating) (2006) (uncut) | Netherlands:MG6 | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:PG (No. 28651) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA

Company:

Guber-Peters Company, The

Trivia:

The film was originally titled "Slammer" until Madonna wrote and decided to use Who's That Girl as the film's theme song. The song went to #1 on the Billboard chart in August 1987.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Loudon flips through the pre-nuptial agreement, the first few text pages he flips through are identical. When he gets to the sexual position diagrams, the various icons repeat on various pages. This is because Wendy's father wants to make sure Louden and Wendy don't have sex. It is his way of overkill.

Quotes:

Louden Trott: You're lying.
Nikki Finn: How do you know?
Louden Trott: Your lips are moving.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

New York, New York

Who's That Girl: The Early Marxism of Madonna

Before she appeared in a series of Freudian dramas (Body of Evidence, Dangerous Game, Evita), Madonna experimented with juxtaposing the Nabokovian ideal of naive nymphette (see Desperately Seeking Susan) with that of unabashed working-class sexuality. What results is a masterpiece of subtle Neo-Marxist Feminism, culminated in the character of Nikki Fin. At the onset we're forced to inquire about Nikki's identity: Really, who is that girl? Is she dressing that way intentionally? Does her sartorial behavior undermine or fuel her existential yearnings? Disguised as a comedy, Who's That Girl toys with the notion that under certain social imperatives (read capitalism reeling from Reaganomics) women must find purpose by not simply exercising hostility on their male peers, but expect social gain and subordination from their attempts. Can I recommend Who's That Girl? Wholeheartedly, I can.