Madonna: Truth or Dare - Plot

Plot

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 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."

As the tour continues, Madonna's throat problems worsen while Beatty becomes more fed up with the cameras. During a throat examination in Madonna's hotel room, Beatty chastises her for the documentary, telling her the atmosphere is driving everyone insane. Madonna ignores Beatty, and when she declines to have the rest of her examination done off camera, Beatty starts laughing, saying, "She doesn't want to live off-camera, much less talk... What point is there of existing off-camera?"

Due to Madonna's throat problems she cancels some of her shows. In New York, Madonna's doctor instructs her not to talk and she finds herself isolated in her apartment with only her assistant, Melissa, as contact to the outside world. Everything seems to fall apart and she loses contact with the dancers. Star reports that Madonna dumped Beatty for one of her dancers, Oliver Crumes. The other dancers torment him and Madonna chastises them. Sharon, a make-up artist, is drugged and sodomized while partying. In a prayer circle before the final show in New York, Madonna attempts to pull everyone back together.

The third leg of the tour kicks off in Europe with everyone in better spirits. Madonna and the dancers visit Chanel in Paris, fool around at Melissa's birthday party and imitate Madonna's 1984 "Like a Virgin" music video. As the tour nears Italy, the Pope attempts to have it banned, forcing Madonna to cancel one show. Sandra Bernhard appears to cheer up Madonna. Sandra asks who would really blow her away if she could meet them and Madonna replies, "That guy who's in all of Pedro Almodóvar's films - Antonio Banderas." When Almodóvar throws a party in Madrid and invites the future Evita co-stars, Madonna spends a week thinking up ways to seduce Banderas. It turns out that he is married, ending Madonna's two-year crush.

While Madonna works in her hotel room, voice-overs from her family, friends, and co-workers describe the star. Though she is happier now than she was on her last tour, Sandra Bernhard does not think that she takes enough time to enjoy her successes. Others describe her in unflattering terms. Luis Camacho says, "I just feel like she's a little girl lost in the storm sometimes. You know, there's just a whole whirlwind of things going on around her, and sometimes she gets caught up in it." As the tour winds down, the group plays a game of Truth or Dare?. Madonna is asked, "Who has been the love of your life for your whole life? Your biggest love?" Madonna replies without hesitation, "Sean. Sean." Madonna invites her dancers, one-by-one, to join her in bed, where she imparts words of wisdom to each.

While the show's closing act, "Keep It Together", plays, a montage of Madonna saying good-bye to her dancers is shown. The film ends with a clip of Madonna telling director Alek Keshishian to go away and, "Cut it, Alek! Cut it, Goddamnit!"