Desperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn and Madonna. Set in New York City, the mistaken identity-type plot involves the interaction between two women – a bored housewife and a bohemian drifter – linked by various messages in the personals section of a newspaper. The film was Madonna's first major screen role and also provided early roles for a number of other well-known performers, such as John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurie Metcalf and Steven Wright.
The screenplay was written by Leora Barish, and is said to have been given an uncredited rewrite by Craig Bolotin. Desperately Seeking Susan was a commercial success and ended as the 31st-highest-grossing film of the year, grossing $27.3 million in the United States. and both Arquette's and Madonna's acting were critically acclaimed.
Desperately Seeking Susan is noted for its impact on 1980s fashion, especially among the young female audience at that time. The movie's costumery was influenced in part by Madonna's own early style. The film was also noted as a representation of yuppie culture and feminism. Some critics labeled Desperately Seeking Susan as one of the best American films of the year, including Vincent Canby from The New York Times, and eventually, of the decade by publications such as NME and Rolling Stone. Many others have labeled it a cult classic of the 1980s. In 2023, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The filmmakers initially wanted Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn to play Roberta and Susan, but the director decided to cast newcomers Arquette and Madonna instead and the studio wanted the movie to have younger actors in order to appeal to younger filmgoers. Bruce Willis was up for the role of Dez and Melanie Griffith was up for the role of Susan. The Statue of Liberty can be seen in the movie when it was still covered in scaffolding during its two-year renovation. Costume designer Santo Loquasto designed Susan's distinctive jacket (supposedly first worn by Jimi Hendrix), basis of the plot of mistaken identity.
The movie was inspired in part by the movie Céline et Julie vont en bateau (Céline and Julie Go Boating) (1974). It also has an alternate ending included on the DVD, in which Susan and Roberta are invited to Egypt after helping return the earrings. They are depicted next to the pyramids on camels. Seidelman cut this scene, saying that it was unnecessary and audiences at the test screenings thought the film should have already ended much earlier (as explained on the DVD). The science fiction film The Time Travelers (1964) is playing in scenes 6 and 23 (melts at the movie's ending). All the scenes featuring Dez working as a projectionist were filmed at Bleecker Street Cinema. The scene with Roberta and Gary in their kitchen shows Roberta watching Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940). The interior and exterior shots of The Magic Club were filmed at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. Some scenes were filmed at Danceteria, a club that Madonna frequented and which gave her a start in the music business. Separated-at-birth triplets Robert Shafran, Eddy Galland and David Kellman have a cameo role, reportedly at Madonna's personal invitation.
Soundtrack
thumb|185px|Madonna during the performance of "[[Into the Groove" on 2023-2024's the Celebration Tour. The song was a number-one hit in various territories, including a number of European countries.]]
The soundtrack, created by Thomas Newman, was released on both vinyl and CD together with the soundtrack to another Seidelman film, Making Mr. Right. The soundtrack does not feature any of the other songs in the film. The film captures the feel of the underground Bohemian/new wave scene of the early to mid-1980s New York City, a scene that helped Madonna get her big break in the music business.
Madonna recorded a song for the movie, titled "Desperately Seeking Susan". It ended up not being used in the film, and a demo she had just finished, "Into the Groove", was used instead. Only the demo version can be heard in the movie. The song was a huge commercial success. In some territories, it was included on a 1985 reissue of Like a Virgin, but in the United States it was only released as a double A-side 12″ single with "Angel". The song's music video consists of clips from the film, edited by Doug Dowdle of Parallax Productions.
Reception
Box office
The film had a limited release on March 29 before its official wide release on April 12, 1985, in the United States, and grossed $1,526,098 in its first weekend. It was a commercial success of its time, making $27,398,584 in the United States. It also became the most successful Orion Pictures film in Europe at that point.
Critical reception
Desperately Seeking Susan was praised by critics. On Metacritic it has a score of 71 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun Times gave the film three stars out of a possible four, saying it was essentially a screwball comedy, which "bopped around New York, introducing us to unforgettable characters". In Costume and Cinema (2001), professor of film studies, Sarah Street considered Madonna's role as Susan as arguably her "best film performance". In similar remarks, film critics like James Monaco deemed it as "Madonna's best role", playing a character "loosely based on herself". In her review for The New Yorker, critic Pauline Kael referred to Madonna as "an indolent, trampy goddess."
Accolades
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Award
! Year
! Category
! Recipient
! Result
|-
| British Academy Film Awards
| rowspan="2" | 1986
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role
| Rosanna Arquette
|
|-
| Casting Society of America
| Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Big Budget Feature (Comedy)
| rowspan="2" | Desperately Seeking Susan
|
|-
| César Awards
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| Best Foreign Film
|
|-
| Golden Globes
| Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical
| Rosanna Arquette
|
|-
| National Film Registry
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| Spreader of Joy
|
|-
| Record Mirror Readers Poll Awards
| Most Riveting Film
| Desperately Seeking Susan/Madonna
|
|}
Some critics labeled Desperately Seeking Susan one of the best US films of the year, and eventually, the decade. while the New York Post called it "the most entertaining new movie of the year". In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked the film among their 100 Greatest Movies of the 1980s, calling it "a classic of its particular era". In 2011, NME also ranked the film as one of the 25 Greatest '80s Movies. Time Out ranked it as one of the 100 Best Feminist Films of All Time in 2022. Susan was selected in the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival of 1985.
Home media
Less than five months after its theatrical release, in July 1985 media outlets started to announce the home video release by Thorn EMI/HBO Video to be scheduled in late August of that year. It was released on VHS, HiFi, and Beta at a retail price for $79.95.
Commercially, the film debuted at number 9 on Billboards Top Videocassettes sales and peaked at number 5 on the issue dated November 2, 1985. In the video rental charts, the film debuted at number 7 and climbed to the first-position on the issued dated September 28, 1985. It also debuted and peaked at number 10 in the Billboards videodisc charts on March 8, 1986. The release ended at the 35-position in the Top Videocassettes Sales and the 29-position in the Top Videocassettes Rentals of 1985.
In January 1986, the film was certified Gold by the International Tape/Disc Association, denoting 75,000 copies or sales totaling $3 million at retail. It also earned a Platinum certification in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of 1992, Desperately Seeking Susan sold 150,000 home videos in the US according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film was released on DVD in 2000, and on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber on October 14, 2014.
Legacy
thumb|left|Madonna's wax statue at [[National Wax Museum (Ireland)|National Wax Museum of Ireland. Her early style was an inspiration for the movie's costumery.]]
Upon release, the film developed cult status in some audiences, with Hadley Freeman from The Guardian referring to the movie as an "80s cult classic". It also impacted the fashion of teenage girls, while Derek Blasberg selected it as his favorite film that best showcased 1980s fashion. The movie's costume designer, Santo Loquasto reportedly sought inspiration for Susan's wardrobe in Madonna's own closet. The style influenced other celebrities, like South African performer PJ Powers. In 2014, the jacket with a pyramid emblazoned on its backside that Madonna wore in the film fetched $252,000 at an auction.
Writing for Washington Post in 1985, Paul Attanasio considered the film as "the first big yuppie movie of the '80s", and further explains that yuppies are "the first generation to grow up exclusively on mass-marketed culture". In 2017, Ben Reardon from Vice commented: "Desperately Seeking Susan defined the times and withstands performance after performance, and has been referenced, riffed on and re-rubbed by every designer and wannabe star till Doomsday." Kirk Ellis, from The Hollywood Reporter, said the movie "could well usher in a whole new subgenre: New Wave screwball comedy". The movie also has been noted as a "cult feminist classic". In 2022, Garin Pirnia from Mental Floss considered the film "still packs a powerful feminist punch". He also said, at the time, and even somewhat by today's standards Desperately Seeking Susan "was revolutionary in that it featured two female leads and was written, produced, and directed by women". a label that even Rosanna Arquette followed. Although Madonna was not billed as the lead actress, her character became a "film's pivotal plot point", contributing "significantly to its film success". Author Alicia Malone and The Guardians Arwa Mahdawi, also said film director Susan Seidelman is probably best known for this film. In 2023, the Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
In October 2025, the film was screened as 'A Tribute to Susan Seidelman' at the 20th Rome Film Festival.
Stage musical
The film was developed into a stage musical that premiered at London's Novello Theatre on November 15, 2007, following previews from October 16, 2007. It features music and lyrics by Blondie and Deborah Harry, including a new song written especially for the show. The production was directed by Angus Jackson, with book and concept by Peter Michael Marino and sets and costumes by Tim Hatley. Produced by Susan Gallin, Ron Kastner, Mark Rubinstein and Old Vic productions, the musical starred Emma Williams as Susan, Kelly Price as Roberta, and Steven Houghton as Alex. Marino presented his solo comedy Desperately Seeking the Exit, which is based on his experiences, at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.