Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)

Taglines: Like you’ve never seen her before.

Madonna: Truth or Dare movie storyline. From the rain of Japan, through threats of arrest for ‘public indecency’ in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 ‘Blond Ambition’ concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the music performer, from a prayer circle with the dancers before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.

Madonna: Truth or Dare (known as In Bed with Madonna outside of North America) is a 1991 American documentary film chronicling the life of American singer and songwriter Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. The film was generally well received by critics and was successful at the box office, at that point becoming the highest-grossing documentary of all time with a worldwide gross of $29,012,935. It was screened out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2005, Madonna produced another documentary, I’m Going to Tell You a Secret, which followed her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. It was filmed and narrated in the same style as Truth or Dare, with stage performances filmed in colour and behind-the-scenes in black and white. Truth or Dare was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actress for Madonna as herself, which she lost to Sean Young for A Kiss Before Dying. It holds an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

About the Story

The film begins on August 6, 1990, the day after the final show of the Blond Ambition Tour in Nice. Madonna cleans up her hotel room while, in a voice-over, she explains that she is not as emotional as the rest of her group over the end of the tour. She has already grieved, she says, but it will hit her later and she hopes she will be in a safe place when it happens.

In a flashback to April 1990, the tour is about to kick off in Japan. Everything is a mess; there are sound problems and Madonna did not realize that the tour is during the rainy season in Japan. Because it is cold and wet, Madonna and the dancers scrap their costumes for warmer attire. In a voice-over, Madonna confesses that the only thing keeping her from “slashing my wrists” is the thought of returning to North America and performing the show as it is meant to be. In America, Madonna meets the families of her dancers. One dancer, Oliver, sees his father for the first time in several years, while Madonna talks with her father, Silvio “Tony” Ciccone, on the phone. Though she insists that she can get him tickets, he is reluctant to impose.

The Blond Ambition tour stops in Los Angeles, where sound problems abound. Despite reassurances, Madonna focuses on the technical problems and yells at her manager, Freddy DeMann, for allowing so many people from the music industry, who appeared bored by her performance, in the front rows. Though then-boyfriend Warren Beatty tries to console her, he is distracted by the cameras and walks away laughing. Madonna parties with several celebrities, including Dick Tracy co-stars Al Pacino and Mandy Patinkin, and Olivia Newton-John. Kevin Costner offends Madonna by calling her show “neat”. Madonna pretends to gag after he leaves.

Despite the lively atmosphere, Beatty still seems bothered by the cameras’ presence. During her stay in Washington, D.C., Madonna attends the premiere of Dick Tracy with Beatty, with whom she co-starred. In another voice-over, she describes a dream that she had the night before: Mikhail Gorbachev came to her show and she thought about how jealous Beatty would be that she met him first. She declares it “a good dream”.

On the final night of the show in Toronto, Madonna is informed that plainclothes officers are prepared to arrest her if she performs the simulated masturbation scene at the end of “Like a Virgin”. Madonna refuses to change her show, stating, “Last time I was on tour, Sean [Penn] was in jail. I guess it’s my turn.” Freddy DeMann bets that the threat of arrest will only make Madonna go further and no one takes his bet. According to a news report, Toronto police decide not to arrest the singer, claiming that no threats were made.

The Blond Ambition tour goes to Madonna’s hometown of Detroit. In a voice-over, Madonna expresses the difficulty she has going back home, especially since fame seems to change one’s loved ones. At the end of “Holiday”, Madonna calls her father on stage and sings “Happy Birthday to You”. Backstage, Tony and his wife, Joan, compliment Madonna (and Christopher) on the show, though Tony expresses his displeasure at some of the more “burlesque” aspects.

Madonna and Christopher wait for their older brother, Martin, to show up while they discuss his substance abuse problems. By the time Martin arrives, Christopher has left and Madonna has gone to bed. Madonna reunites with her “childhood idol”, Moira McFarland-Messana. Moira gives Madonna a painting she made entitled “Madonna and Child”, and asks Madonna to be the godmother to her unborn child.

Before leaving Detroit, Madonna visits her mother’s grave as “Promise to Try” plays in the background. It is the first time she has visited her mother’s grave since she was a little girl. Madonna lies down beside her mother’s grave as Christopher watches and Madonna whispers that, “I’m going to fit in right here. They’re going to bury me sideways.”