Summaries

Synopsis

In a hotel room, pop singer Madonna muses about the depression that comes with the end of a concert tour.

Months earlier, she begins her "Blond Ambition" tour in Japan, where she must perform at least one outdoor show in the rain. By the time they leave Japan, Madonna, her two female backup singers, Donna Delory and Niki Harris, and seven male backup dancers, have bonded. She calls the dancers her "children" and says she draws emotionally crippled people who need mothering, perhaps because of her own need to be mothered. She is moved by the innocence of the dancers and believes the tour offers them the thrill of their lives.

In Houston, Texas, a dancer named Oliver Crumes gets to see his father for the first time in five years. Afterward, he happily reports that his father apologized for discouraging his dancing career. Madonna calls her father, Silvio Ciccone, to remind him about her upcoming shows in her hometown of Detroit, Michigan. She hopes he will attend both, although she worries some of the racy content might make him uncomfortable. Silvio mentions that Madonna's brother, Marty Ciccone, will be released from an alcohol rehabilitation center just before her arrival. He suggests a party, but Madonna says the tour is too grueling. Because the show is so elaborate, she and her crew encounter numerous technical difficulties.

At one of several shows in Los Angeles, California, her microphone fails during multiple songs, and she reprimands a sound man backstage. Her boyfriend, actor Warren Beatty, entertains famous friends at the after-show party, including Al Pacino, Mandy Patinkin, and Kevin Costner. Madonna finds it irritating that some celebrities act as if they are automatically friends with other celebrities because they have fame in common. Madonna tells her manager, Freddy De Mann, that she does not want entertainment industry executives seated in the front rows at her next show, as they do not enjoy the performance as much as her actual fans.

In Toronto, Canada, she performs two shows. On the second night, police arrive and threaten to arrest her for indecency if she simulates masturbation onstage. Madonna refuses to compromise her artistic integrity and performs the show as choreographed. While singing "Like A Virgin," she writhes on a bed, pretending to masturbate. The police do not arrest her as threatened.

In Detroit, Madonna observes that hometown concerts are the most difficult, in part because stardom can have a negative effect on family members. Her brother, Marty, admits he sometimes gets criticized for not being as successful as his sister. He describes their relationship as "give and take."

At the end of the first show, Madonna calls her father, Silvio, onstage and announces it is his birthday. She tells the audience she worships the ground he walks on and encourages them to join her in singing "Happy Birthday." Afterward, Silvio and his second wife, Joan, visit Madonna's dressing room. She is pleasantly surprised when they praise the show, although her father describes it as "a little touchy in spots," in reference to the sexually explicit content.

That night, Madonna waits for her brother Marty in her hotel room, but he does not arrive on time. Exhausted, she goes to bed. Later, Madonna's childhood friend, Moira McFarland-Messana, visits her at the hotel. Madonna recalls Moira teaching her how to use a tampon, and the two sexually experimenting together, but Moira denies any memory of those things. She admits she was addicted to drugs for many years and, as a result, her memory has suffered. Moira, who has several children, tells Madonna she is unexpectedly pregnant and asks if she would be the child's godmother. Madonna promises to consider it.

Afterward, Moira recalls when Madonna's mother died. Madonna was only five years old at the time, and Moira was seven. Madonna and her brother, Christopher Ciccone, who works as her artistic director on the tour, visit their mother's grave. Although Madonna does not remember her mother well, she knows that she was a religious woman. While Christopher looks on, she lies down in the grass and kisses her mother's grave. Soon, Madonna has to cancel several shows due to a throat infection.

A doctor makes a house call to the singer's New York City apartment, and Warren Beatty is surprised that she allows her throat examination to be filmed. He remarks that Madonna "doesn't want to live off camera, much less talk." Some of the dancers enjoy their days off by attending a gay pride parade. A tabloid reports that Madonna left Warren Beatty for Oliver Crumes, her only heterosexual male backup dancer. One of her shows in New York is dedicated to her close friend, Keith Haring, a well-known artist who died of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

That night, Madonna calls Oliver Crumes to her dressing room and tells him she does not suspect him of leaking the false story to the tabloids. She apologizes for the other dancers' nasty behavior, and forbids them from ostracizing Oliver. As she leads everyone in a group prayer, Madonna sheds tears at the mention of Keith Haring. Meanwhile, make-up artist Sharon Gault suspects she was drugged at a nightclub the night before. She woke up in her hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton to discover she had been robbed and her anus was bleeding. Madonna laughs when someone tells her the story, and guesses that Sharon enticed the thieves by bragging about her fancy accommodations.

The tour moves to Europe, where the dancers appear to get along better. At a birthday party for her assistant, Melissa Crow, Madonna recites a poem she wrote for her, and they embrace. Madonna and her team remain in high spirits until the Vatican announces plans to cancel her concert dates in Italy. Madonna gives a speech in praise of the United States' freedom of speech protections. She compares her show to theater, which takes the audience on an emotional journey that does not endorse a way of life but describes one. The controversy leads to the cancellation of two shows.

At a hotel, Madonna spends time with her friend, actress Sandra Bernhard. They discuss Sandra's relationship woes, and Sandra asks who Madonna longs to meet. Madonna answers that she would like to meet the Spanish actor, Antonio Banderas. In Spain, film director Pedro Almodovar hosts a dinner party for Madonna, and Antonio Banderas attends. However, she is annoyed to discover the actor is married. Other people on the tour discuss Madonna's relentless work ethic, and the distancing effect of stardom.

In a game of "Truth or Dare," Donna Delory asks Madonna who the love of her life is, and Madonna names ex-boyfriend Sean Penn. Niki Harris dares her to fell-ate a water bottle, and everyone cheers as Madonna complies. Later, Madonna lies in bed with Donna and Niki. She acknowledges that she is not the best singer or dancer, but says she feels strongly about being "provocative and political."

On the last night of the tour, she ends the show with Sly & The Family Stone's "It's A Family Affair," which leads into her song, "Keep It Together." Afterward, the dancers and singers cry and embrace each other, and say tearful goodbyes to Madonna.