‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ Turns 40

With the exceptions of Blondie and tennis, I don't think there's been a topic I've blogged about more these past (almost) 20 years than "Desperately Seeking Susan," which (horrifyingly) was released 40 years ago today.

 

Whether it was skipping my senior prom to see it (again) with my friend Yuki; compiling the official soundtrack (that never was); the time the guy who played the bellhop who delivered room-service spilled the beans about his run-in with Madonna years later; finally meeting director Susan Seidelman at a screening; its 30th anniversary; the death of Mark Blum (aka Gary Glass) from Covid (did you know the hunk from "Making Mr. Right" also succumbed to the disease?); seeing at BAM for my partner's birthday; my friend's fanboying on Aidan Quinn, where he told Dez that like me, the film was the final factor in having to move to NYC; or re-enacting the scenes in Battery Park on my first visit to the city in 1985 (as well as a stop at Love Saves the Day), there isn't a subject I enjoy more than my favorite film of the era. 

And though my ability to fangirl has diminished over the years -- Seidelman released a memoir chock-full of "DSS" details last year that I still haven't gotten to ... because I can't get past the first half of Chris Stein's (I forgot how to read during Covid) -- my love for this new wave masterpiece remains as strong as ever. 

Keep the faith. xo

Jeanne Wolf on the scene ...

March 29, 1985: The Gray Lady also liked the film, naming it one of the 10 best of the year!

UPDATE:

I assumed these new photos of Madonna in the disputed pyramid jacket -- "she owes me a coat" -- were fake, but apparently they're real!