Desperately Seeking Susan Does Empathetic Screenwriting & Chaotic Comedy Just Right

As the plot of Desperately Seeking Susan began to reveal itself, I came to a revelation. This was one of the first times I was seeing the o'l storytelling cliche of a person bonking their head, forgetting who they actually are and proceeding to embrace a whole new persona in a straightforward manner. The only other movie I can think of that did something similar without also being tongue-in-cheek about was the 2018 Amy Schumer vehicle I Feel Pretty. Otherwise, I've normally seen this premise executed with a sense of self-aware mischief in the confines of kids cartoons like Garfield & Friends and SpongeBob SquarePants. If Desperately Seeking Susan is any indicator, though, maybe it's a storyline we should be doing more often without any subversive intent. 

Desperately Seeking Susan begins with Roberta (Rosanna Arquette), a housewife in New Jersey. She's got a fancy house, a spa salesman husband, Gary Glass (Mark Blum), plenty of money. She's got everything, but she feels her life is so empty. She manages to find some escape from her humdrum existence through the personal ads in the newspaper, one of which, addressed to a woman named Susan (Madonna), catches her attention. Upon seeing Susan, Roberta becomes fascinated by this woman. Susan is the person Roberta wishes she could be. Free to do what she wants, Susan takes no guff from anybody. Roberta would give anything to be like her.

Well, she's about to get her wish. When Roberta is accosted by some criminals who mistake her for Susan, she tries to escape and ends up slamming her head into a lamppost. In the process, she loses her memory and eventually is convinced she actually is Susan. From there, Desperately Seeking Susan turns into a story about close calls, near-misses and mistaken identity, all of it mightily amusing. Despite all of these characters being so confused about whose Susan and where Robert is, Leora Barish's screenplay contains a sense of elegant clarity that makes it constantly clear to the audience what exactly is going on. Barish nicely captures a sense of chaos in her writing but it never reaches a point where it just turns into convoluted mush. 

There's a preciseness to how Barish writes Roberta's situation. In the process, Barish makes the rare script where the audience knowing more than the in-movie characters is actually a positive rather than a drawback. Also proving to be a plus in her screenplay is the clear sense of love she has for both of the lead characters of Desperately Seeking Susan. The 1980s was an era of cinema famous for following the Reagan-inspired political climate of shaming women who don't adhere to traditional gender norms. Just look at the majority of slasher movies that doomed women who embrace any form of sexuality with imminent death at the hands of a market killer. Such retrograde approaches to gender are absent from Susan's kindhearted nature to its titular character. Instead of having Susan go down a tired narrative path of learning that being a rule-breaker is wrong, Susan is constantly shown to be a delightful figure we're supposed to be enthralled by.

Shaming Susan for her independent and non-conforming qualities might have made her fit into the political climates of the 1980s but, in addition to that not being a cool way to treat women characters in any era, it also would have gone against the inciting incident of Desperately Seeking Susan. Susan needs to be a character both Roberta and the viewer can idolize. Who wouldn't want to live their life without a care and wearing such cool jackets (excellent work on costume designer Santo Loquasto for that piece of attire)? In the process of upending gender norms of the conservative 1980s, Desperately Seeking Susan not only creates such a warm-hearted atmosphere but it ensures that the perspective of Roberta, who looks longingly upon Susan like she's Joan Jett and St. Vincent rolled up into one person, is successfully maintained.

A similarly kindhearted approach is also extended in Barish's writing to the character of Roberta, whose sheltered nature isn't used for cheap mocking laughs, as well as the other prominent characters in the film, including a magician's assistant that serves as Susan's best pal. Director Susan Seidelman turns out to be the perfect person to bring Barish's screenplay to life. Seidelman's direction effectively translates the script's empathetic nature. Just like Barish, Seidelman has a palpable affection for these characters that prove to be infectious. Seidelman also lends visual sensibilities that cleverly manifest Desperately Seeking Susan's rampantly chaotic comedy. This is particularly true in regards to shots where Seidelman wrings laughs out of just how narrowly key characters missed running into each other. 

Through her direction, Seidelman finds extra bursts of comedy in allowing the audience to see how close this whole farce could have been resolved. Seidelman also proves to be a great filmmaker in terms of getting strong work out of the dynamite cast she's assembled. Headlining this collection of actors is Rosanna Arquette and Madonna. Though playing totally opposite characters, each lends a similar level of entertaining conviction to their performances that make Roberta and Susan such ceaselessly fun figures to watch. In the supporting cast is a bevy of future famous faces in their earliest acting roles. Baby-faced versions of Laurie Metcalf, Will Patton, Giancarlo Esposito, Steven Wright, John Turturro all appear while even the titular subjects of Three Identical Strangers show up for a brief moment! Just these cameos alone provide Desperately Seeking Susan with tons of fun. However, the work of the lead performers, as well as screenwriting Leora Barish and director Susan Seidelman, ensure that the fantastically clever comedy Desperately Seeking Susan is far far far more than just a string of recognizable cameos!

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