Desperately Seeking Susan

“OH Susan we thought you were dead!”

…“Not dead, just in New Jersey.”

Roberta (Arquette) is a bored housewife from the suburbs with a wealthy bonehead of a husband that is taken on a maniacal fairytale journey through 1980s new-wave New York’s East Village. Following a mysterious series of personal ads seeking a meeting with a woman named Susan, Roberta decides to rock her suburbia boat and see the fascinating woman in person at the most recent location in the paper. A bonk on the head, a sick jacket, and a career in stage magic later, DSS is a delightful slapstick caper.

Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn were the producer’s picks to play Roberta and Susan; while Ellen Barkin, Suzanne Vega, and Jennifer Jason Leigh were also possible candidates for the title role. However, Seidelman chose newcomers Arquette and Madonna for their pure charisma and what Seidelman saw as raw youth’s view of the NYC artist life.

Like a Virgin dropped during production and rapidly blew up in popularity, the original cut was trimmed down to take it from an R-Rated to PG-13 status to appeal to the new massive teen fanbase. Richard Hell (from SMITHEREENS) returns briefly and reprises his role as a hot and annoying perso