Into the Groove

Desperately Seeking Susan - dir. Susan Seidelman - 1985 - USA

As I'm listening to Ciccone Youth's (a side-project of Sonic Youth) cover of Madonna's "Into the Groove," I couldn't help but remember the bizarre scene in Desperately Seeking Susan where Rosanna Arquette's loser husband confronts Madonna in a dance club, where they're weirdly playing "Into the Groove." As a child, I always found that peculiar -- but now as an adult, I find it weird that I'm thinking about Desperately Seeking Susan. Other than Dick Tracy and maybe (a very large maybe) Evita, this film stands as the only bearable Madonna vehicle, her first post-stardom. It's a silly film about mistaken identities, amnesia, and a bored housewife who finds herself. But why do I like this film (or think I like this film)? Of course, considering I had to open this blog with a reference to Sonic Youth to establish my hip status, I feel guilty. Do I want to like Madonna? Do I actually like her and cannot bring myself to admit this for it's socially uncouth? I very honestly find her recent music to be a huge bag of lousy, not to mention finding her social presence utterly contemptable. Yet, for some reason, there's an unhealthy liking of Madge deep within me. Even when I'm hating her, it's a hatred that stems from love and from fond memories of watching VH1 marathons of her videos and, yes, Desperately Seeking Susan. This is all sick and twisted, so much so that I don't even want to post this blog. Madonna? What the fuck? A friend of mine was telling me about her ex-boyfriend and how he had a room in their apartment dedictaed to Madonna (filled with plenty of posters depicting her chameleon-like personas). When I asked why, the simple response she gave was "why not?" Why not, indeed. Fuck you, Madonna.