Who's That Girl (1987)

The life of an uptight tax lawyer turns chaotic when he is asked to escort a young woman newly released from prison, who persuades him to help prove her innocence.

Director:

James Foley

Writers:

Andrew Smith (story), Andrew Smith (screenplay)

Stars:

Madonna, Griffin Dunne, Haviland Morris

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Madonna	...	Nikki Finn
Griffin Dunne	...	Loudon Trott
Haviland Morris	...	Wendy Worthington
John McMartin	...	Simon Worthington
Bibi Besch	...	Mrs. Worthington
John Mills	...	Montgomery Bell (as Sir John Mills)
Robert Swan	...	Detective Bellson
Drew Pillsbury	...	Detective Doyle
Coati Mundi	...	Raoul
Dennis Burkley	...	Benny
James Dietz	...	Buck
Cecile Callan	...	Sandy - Wendy's Friend
Karen Elise Baldwin	...	Heather - Wendy's Friend (as Karen Baldwin)
Kimberlin Brown	...	Rachel - Wendy's Friend
Crystal Carson	...	Denise - Wendy's Friend

Storyline

Four years unjustly jailed haven't dampened the spirits or determination of Nikki Finn (Madonna). The spunky parolee sets out to clear her name, and sets the Big Apple spinning in deliriously funny ways.

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Plot Keywords:

harlem manhattan | new york city | rainforest | frame up | neo screwball comedy | 

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Taglines:

A funny thing happened on the way to the bus station.

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Slammer

Filming Locations:

West 57th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,548,205, 9 August 1987, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$7,305,209

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Guber-Peters Company, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Madonna brought in her friend James Foley to direct. He had previously been Sean Penn's best man at his wedding to Madonna, and had also directed the music videos of her singles "Live to Tell" (1986) and "Papa Don't Preach" (1986). He was ecstatic at having the opportunity to make a major movie, as previously he had only directed the small-budgeted movie At Close Range (1986), starring Penn.

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Goofs

While in the record store, Loudon comments on the price ticket on Nikki's new skirt, and there are two price tickets visible. But a moment earlier, when Loudon first notices the skirt, there is only one ticket visible.

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Quotes

Nikki Finn: Cops stop me, they find Johnny in a lot of pieces in the back of my car. Judge called it a "crime of passion."
Nikki Finn: [slight pause] Hey, I liked Johnny, but not enough to kill him.

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Crazy Credits

An animated Nikki Finn opens up the Warner Bros logo and steps out. She then sets off a musical number ("Causing a Commotion") that covers the opening credits, and recaps the events that got Nikki in prison.

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Alternate Versions

The BBFC in 1987 cut the film both for cinema release & Domestic Video, with cuts totaling 1 min 43 secs, to the scene where Madonna is shopping with Griffin Dunne in the record store & she can be seen putting cassette's into her own pockets & a shop lifter's too in order to frame him, cuts were waived on the 07/03/2006 with a PG cert, even though the Uncut version played on television channels in the early 90's

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Connections

Spoofs Bringing Up Baby (1938)

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Soundtracks

Wedding Bell Blues
Written by Laura Nyro

User Reviews

Better than most of the recent "comedies" that focus on "gross-out" humor.

Admittedly I was only 13 years old when I first saw this movie (in the theater), but it has always been one of my favorites.

The story line was held together with some of the best lines. (I still quote them today). Madonna gets slammed for so many reasons, this movie should not be one of them. She and Griffin Dunne made a fun, quirky couple. It did not pretend to be anything than what it was, and who can find fault with that?

This movie was part farce, part mystery (okay, not up to Agatha Christie standards) and part romantic comedy. It was no worse than most films that fall into the romantic comedy genre, if anything it is one of the better ones.

For those of you out there who hate Madonna, by all means avoid this film, why torture yourself? But for anyone who likes her, or just wants to see a light, fluffy story with some great music (let's hear it for Scritti Politti)then "Who's That Girl" is a fun, nostalgic trip that will have you laughing in no time.

Laugh at Buck, the delivery driver, or Griffin Dunne in that top hat and tails, and who could forget the bridesmaids, having been kidnapped and tied together, hitting on the cops? I'm laughing just thinking about it.