Friday, September 24, 2010

Madonna


This week I read Christopher Ciccone's book about growing up with, and working for, his sister Madonna. I know, I know -- not very literary. But I found it at Barnes & Noble on the clearance rack for $4 or so, and besides, I've always liked Madonna. I've long been impressed with her ability to continually reinvent herself.

Anyway, if his book is any indication, she sounds like a bit of a pill. She's evidently very focused and very ambitious, which isn't really surprising given the level of her success. (Christopher and Madonna have had a bit of a falling out, too, so he may have an axe to grind.)

I was impressed by her insistence on going to bed every night at 11 p.m. That's pretty much what I do -- except it's 10 p.m. for me.

Anyway, after reading the book I rented "Desperately Seeking Susan," which I remember going to see in the theaters in 1985. In one scene, Madonna talks on a pink telephone plastered with seashells, and I remembered that telephone vividly. I liked the whole bohemian feel of her city life, and it's cool to watch the same movie now, on the other side of a decade living in New York. As movies go, it's so-so. And sadly, one of Madonna's best.

(Photo: "Hotel California," Branchburg, N.J. Madonna probably would not stay here.)

7 comments:

  1. I enjoyed that movie a lot - it was fun like a candy bar. I actually liked her in Dick Tracy (which I found to be wonderfully campy, actually), and in A League of Their Own.

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  2. A Madonna post!?



    How far they fall....

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  3. I remember loving the bohemian camp of that movie when I saw it in 1985. that was another life.

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  4. Most celebs of Madonna's status are pills with a lot of idiosyncrasies. They have enough money to get away with just about anything they want to do. Probably some sour grapes on the part of her brother.

    I have always been impressed with the humanitarian side of Madonna, her latest effort being the sustainable Malawi Academy for Girls. I don't much care about her quirks if she has this much love of humanity.

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  5. So, a public pee isn't better than gunfire? We had some gunfire there, too, but all I remember, being very small at the time, is hiding beneath my bed and my mother's instructions to stay away from the window...(Yes, Panama)

    As for Madonna, she is certainly business-wise. I hope her efforts in Malawi are treated with more kindness now. The celeb media certainly was nasty about her adoption of a baby from there, as I recall.

    I like A League of Their Own.

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  6. An actress she is not. But she is a force of nature, definitely. I loved that movie.

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  7. Please, I bought that book at full price the moment it came out. A guilty pleasure. I love Madge even if she is a pill. I am totally happy being a fan and not a family member or friend. I doubt that she would be someone I'd like on a personal level. I think that is probably true for most of the stars out there - except of course Linda. She and I would get along famously!

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