A
petite New Jersey housewife finds self-fulfillment through amnesia in this
new wave comedy of errors set in New York's hip '80s downtown scene. Rosanna
Arquette stars as Roberta, who turns to the personals for vicarious thrills
after her four-year marriage to staid hot tub salesman Gary (Mark Blum)
grows stale. Her favorite classified ads trace the romance of Jim (Robert
Joy), a struggling musician, and Susan (Madonna), a SoHo vamp who's just
narrowly escaped being murdered alongside one of her other boyfriends — a
gangster who recently stole some Egyptian jewelry. Through a series of
complicated missteps, Roberta ends up losing her memory and convincing both
herself and a broodingly handsome young man named Dez (Aiden Quinn) that
she's the elusive, adventurous Susan. Soon, Roberta finds herself being
romanced by Dez and pursued separately by her husband, Jim, Susan, and by a
murderous mobster who's looking for the stolen jewels. For her second
feature outing, which was partially inspired by Jacques Rivette's Celine and
Julie Go Boating, director Susan Seidelman filled her cast with hipster
extras, downtown personalities, and New York thespians. Notable faces
include comedian Steven Wright; future indie mainstay John Turturro; future
TV stars Michael Badalucco and Laurie Metcalf; punk singer Richard Hell, who
also starred in Seidelman's Smithereens; and performance artist Ann
Magnunson, who would star in the director's Making Mr. Right. The big
dance-club sequence was filmed at Danceteria, the disco that helped launch
Madonna's career. The scene, and the film, helped propel "Into the Groove,"
one of the singer's all-time club classics, into the charts even though it
was actually a b-side to the single "Angel." | Rosanna Arquette | Roberta Glass |
| Madonna | Susan |
| Aidan Quinn | Dez |
| Mark Blum | Gary Glass |
| Robert Joy | Jim |
| Laurie Metcalf | Leslie Glass |
| Anna Levine | Crystal |
| Will Patton | Wayne Nolan |
| Peter Maloney | Ian |
| Steven J. Wright | Larry Stillman D.D.S |
| John Turturro | Ray |
| Anne Carlisle | Victoria |
| Shirley Stoler | Jail Matron |
| Adele Bertei | Prisoner |
| John Lurie | Neighbor Saxophonist |
| Paul Austin | Policeman |
| Ann Magnuson | Cigarette Girl |
| Michael Badalucco | Guy from Brooklyn |
| Harsh Nayyar | Egyptian Diplomat |
| Gary Binkow | Band Member |
| Carol Leifer | Party Guest |
| Richard S. Lowy | Adrian the Hairdresser |
| Arto Lindsay | Newspaper Clerk |
| Isabel Lorca | Party Guest |
| Ilene Kristen | Party Guest |
| J.B. Waters | Jail Matron |
| Gilda Tortorello | Ray's Mom |
| Jose Santana | Boutique Owner |
| Alvy West | Magic Club Saxophonist |
| Keita Whitten | Store Customer |
| Victor Argo | Sgt. Taskal |
| Richard Portnow | Party Guest |
| Lazaro Perez | Enrique the Guard |
| Donna Ritchie | Hot Tub Girl |
| Rockets Redglare | Taxi Driver |
| Henry Adler | Magic Club Drummer |
| Gary Ray | Band Member |
| Elie J. Boubli | Egyptian Ambassador |
| Curt Dempster | Coffee Shop Manager |
| Wendy Dasteel | |
| Michael R. Chin | Choy |
| Richard Edson | Man with Newspapers |
| Steve Eidel | Party Guest |
| Giancarlo Esposito | Street Vendor |
| Michael Bramon | Band Member |
| Daisy Bradford | Daisy |
| Iris Chacon | TV Singer |
| Peter Castellotti | Coffee Shop Cop |
| Stanley Burns | Ventriloquist |
| Timothy Carhart | Victoria's Boy Friend |
| Kim Chan | Park Bum |
| Mary Joy | Cocktail Waitress |
| Patrick John Hurley | Policeman |
| John Hoyt | Space Commander |
| Michael Kaufman | Party Guest |
| Steve Bosh | Newscaster |
| Shirley Kaplan | Waitress |
| Risa Bramon Garcia | |
| Annie Golden | Band Singer |
| Marty Gold | Magic Club Pianist |
| Billy Hopkins | |
| Rosemary Hochschild | Cocktail Waitress |
| Joyce Griffen | Prostitute |
| Richard Hell | Bruce Meeker |
Genre/Type - Comedy, Screwball Comedy, Feminist Film
Produced by - Orion
Running time - 104 min.
After Hours (1985, Martin Scorsese)
Who's That Girl? (1987, James Foley)
Something Wild (1986, Jonathan Demme)
Sticky Fingers (1988, Catlin Adams)
Addicted to Love (1997, Griffin Dunne)
Papi Chulo (2003, Linda Mendoza)
Gaudi Afternoon (2001, Susan Seidelman)
Forever Lulu (2000, John Kaye)