Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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.

I have always been fascinated with Madonna. I feel that she has been unfairly maligned over the years, as are many who stretch the envelope with new ideas and thinking.I have to admit I tuned into this documentary just to see Pedro Almodovar. I hadn't realized that Madonna had a thing for Antonio Bandaras and she got to meet him at a party thrown in her honor by Almodovar. Unbelievable, that she lost out to Melanie Griffith.Seeing Madonna backstage shines a whole new light on her and makes her out to be someone who really cares about putting on a good show and, more importantly, shows her as someone who loves every - black, white, gay, straight - it doesn't matter. Everyone except Kevin Costner, who had the audacity to call her show "neat."

i loved this movie and was amazed by how natural madonna finally seemed in front of a camera. this is so interesting to me, primarily because of how terrible she is in every other film other then 'desperatly seeking susan,' which was just another version of her. in her other ventures into features the biggest problem with her acting is how forced, stiff, and unnatural she is in her every waking motion. it's like the camera goes on and every bad high school actor out there is suddenly channeling thru madge. yet how is it then that she is so comfortable in front of this camera? it's one of two things, as near as i can figure, either she's just a crap actress, having nothing to do with her stress in front of the camera, or, she overloads when attempting to create a manufactured person with a manufactured person. damn, i just lost my train of thought right when i was writing that second one.

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.