Express Yourself

In her 50 years on the planet, Madonna has established herself as performer and transformer extraordinaire. Nobody does over-the-top, envelope-pushing pop music better. But when it comes to her other creative pursuits, let’s just say Madge has heard the phrase “don’t quit your day job” more times than she might care to mention. Her acting has been panned time and again. Who’s That Girl. Body of Evidence. Swept Away. The Queen of Pop has had box office turkeys big enough to float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. You’d imagine that after 22 mostly misses at the box office, she’d retire from the film industry. But no — in what was perhaps an attempt to share career interests with her now-ex-husband Guy Ritchie, she has gone and directed a comedy/drama/musical/romance called Filth and Wisdom.

The day a Madonna film opens must feel like Christmas for a film critic, because some of the reviews are savage. But others are quite generous: London’s Times Online claims Ms. Ciccone has done herself proud. Diehard fans who are just aching for her enormous Dolphin Stadium concert this Wednesday can get an early fix with screenings at 7:45 and 9:30 p.m. at the Miami Beach Cinematheque. Tickets cost $10, and hang on to the stub for 25 percent off a postshow winetasting at Cavas Wines across the street at 437 Española Way.
Sat., Nov. 22, 2008