Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I don't know sh*t about Madonna. I know that the media has a fixation on her aging (how dare she have a wrinkle at 57-years-old?), that she almost died at this year's Brit Awards while performing "Living for Love", that she sliced censors in half during her controversial 1994 interview with David Letterman, that Robert Christgau thinks she's a pop genius, that the gays love her, that she's, all right, clinging to her youth. But still, I hardly know anything about Madonna. Maybe I could barely sing the chorus to "Holiday", but that's all. I'd recognize her if she were to walk down my street. I saw her in "Dick Tracy" once. She was pretty good in that.I suppose I was expecting "Truth or Dare" to have a sort of "Vogue" tinged romanticism, painting Madonna as a pop figure still untouchable, like how "Ready to Wear" made the fashion world funny, nowhere near realistic, but was all the better for it. For all the cultural bullshit that misunderstands her, "Truth or Dare" dares you to hate and love the pop superstar at the same time, wanting you to scoff at her need to be the STAR of every moment, wanting you to appreciate her relentless work ethic, her need to be an entertainer at the top of their game. And like all good documentaries (and why this one is so damn good), the film is riveting for everyone, outsiders and insiders alike. I wasn't a Madonna fan before the documentary nor will I be afterward, but as a rock documentary, "Truth or Dare" stands as one of the finest.Recording the entirety of her 1990 Blond Ambition tour, the film is essentially an inside-look into what a day, a night, a week, a month, a year, looks like for Madonna. (Or maybe it just seems that way: a master of camera manipulation, she may just as well be putting on a show.) Photographed in grainy black-and-white, save for the colored (and obligatory) stage performances, "Truth or Dare" is more warty than glamorized, emphasizing her vulnerabilities, need to be the center of attention, and her wicked sense of humor (she seems to laugh more when people are having a hard time than when everyone is having a ball).I couldn't care less about the complicated choreographic sets that circle around renditions of "Like a Virgin", "Express Yourself", "Holiday", among others; what makes "Truth or Dare" engaging is its frank candidness. Behind the scenes, Madonna notices that the majority of her young dancers are insecure and need mothering; strange, she remarks, how she likes to be a matriarch, to give her stage family someone to confide in. We catch glimpses of her short relationship with "Dick Tracy" co-star Warren Beatty, who scoffs at the fact that real-life doesn't seem to matter to her unless it is captured on camera. Cameos abound, featuring pop-ups from Pedro Almodóvar, Kevin Costner, Antonio Banderas, and Al Pacino. But there are three truly great scenes in the film, where Madonna doesn't seem to be putting on a show, where she doesn't seem to be trying to make herself look a certain way for the cameras.Best is her reaction to Kevin Costner, who comes backstage for one show and describes the production as neat; disgusted, she gags, remarking "Anybody who says my show is 'neat' has to go." Later, an old friend (pre-fame old) meets Madonna in the hallway of her hotel, asking her to be the godmother to her soon-to-be born child. Though it is clear that the women were close back in the day, Madonna blows her off; she doesn't want to be a mother any time soon, and she doesn't have time to waste time with non-celebrities from the past. And in one of the closing scenes, she infamously models what a blow job from Madonna would look like on a glass bottle. Minutes later, she describes her true love as Sean Penn, heartbroken, regretful.Fakery of course comes around — the scene where she visits her mother's grave doesn't feel all too sincere, rather the documentarian's hope to make appear feel bare- bones hopeless — but "Truth or Dare", ultimately, is a winning documentary that makes the once chart-dominating pop-star more fascinating, and timeless, than ever.

The ersatz Madonna 'documentary' offers proof of the Material Girl's genius for self-promotion, pretending to be a candid behind-the-scenes portrait of her Blond Ambition tour when it's really just selling a lot of self-conscious backstage posturing, sandwiched between the expected MTV concert footage. Some fashionably grainy black-and-white photography gives the film a spurious air of raw slice-of-life candor, but the whole thing is one long public relations whitewash, no less calculated than her elaborate stage show and often just about as substantial. At times it seems the only purpose of the film is to reinforce the singer's image as some sort of blue-collar angel/whore, with strong maternal instincts toward her dancing troupe. Nothing else about her is revealed, except for a purely mercenary streak of exhibitionism, hardly front-page news. But there's a peculiar irony in watching Madonna (of all people) try to act natural with a camera lens constantly in her face; the effort to simply be herself can almost be called the best 'performance' of her career.

This is Madonna at her best while during the prime of her music career. Although the film was released in 1991, Truth or Dare actually takes place during the summer of 1990, as Madonna went around the globe on her Blonde Ambition tour. This documentary / music film is a piece of history of not only of Madonna back in the day but what the styles and sounds of the year where like. Boy does it bring back memories! From spandex biker shorts, to that famous cone bra, and not to forget the hairstyles... its really great to watch and think back of what life was like when "Vogue" was her biggest hit to date. She is so revealing, funny, demanding, and warm at heart. It shows the no nonsense business side of her and the sad reflective side of her as she thinks about her mother who died when she was so very young. The film is packed with celebrities, including Warren Beatty, whom she dated while filming his blockbuster film, Dick Tracy. It shows the lives of her dancers, backup singers, and the crew behind the stage as they all mingle around her and do their best for camera time. LOL But in the end, there is no brighter star than Madonna. To this day she is still pushing buttons, creating great music, and daring us all to watch. And just like this film, I think its safe to say she accomplished what she set out to do.

This movie is supposed to be a documentary that depicts Madonna on the road. Just the way she is. But is this a real documentary? Madonna is bold, wick, weird, proud, provocative and she likes to be like that. Very likely, she wants to be like that, hiding her real personality behind all those provocations. So it doesn't seem to be so sincere as documentary, but it's OK as document. There are some celebrities, there'sher music and some interesting moments like her visit to her mother grave, her response to Vatican boycott. It's a very different Madonnafrom that showed in the following documentary, that comes 14 year slater. The difference can be seen also at the premiere: in '91 she presented "Truth or Dare" at Festival de Cannes making all the press talking about her famous appearance, while at the recent documentary premiere we have seen a sober and shy Madonna. While her new documentary "I'm going to tell you a secret" (2005) it's a great documentary that everyone must see, this is only for Madonna's fans.