Description
A bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself and into a chaotic adventure of amnesia and self-discovery.
Susan Seidelman
Desperately Seeking Susan
- Drama
- Comedy
- Crime
Every man is desperate to have her. One woman is desperate to be her. But someone is desperate to kill her. If they can figure out who she is.
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RELEASE
1985-03-29
BUGET
$4.5M
LENGTH
104 min
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Reviews
Screwball drama in Manhattan with Rosanna Arquette and Madonna
Roberta (Rosanna Arquette), a bored housewife in the New York City area, becomes obsessed with a wild child named Susan (Madonna) through the personal ads and inadvertently takes on her persona when she visits Manhattan. Unfortunately a hooligan is after Susan for priceless Egyptian earrings (Will Patton). Mark Blum plays Roberta’s jerk husband and Aidan Quinn a new friend in the city.
“Desperately Seeking Susan” (1985) is a quirky drama revolving around mistaken identity in an unlikely story. It’s entertaining enough and also works as a window into mid-80’s New York City. How much a viewer will appreciate it depends on how smitten (or not smitten) they are with Arquette. She’s winsome, for sure, but I can take her or leave her. Madonna is more alluring in the lesser role, but I’m not big on her either; still, there are a couple scenes that nicely spotlight her attractiveness.
The film runs 1 hour and 43 minutes and was shot in Manhattan; Manhasset, Long Island; and Atlantic City.
GRADE: B-