10 Best Madonna Movies, Ranked

Ever since the 1980s, Madonna has been a superstar. A mainstay of the music industry and a trailblazer in fashion, Madonna is a force to be reckoned with. From her early career and into the early 2000s, she is also one of many music performers who transitioned into acting. With around only a dozen acting roles in her filmography, she is much more prolific with her hundred-plus music videos. Madonna: Truth or Dare, which follows the singer during her Blond Ambition tour and is arguably one of her most influential films, is not included in this ranking because she plays a version of herself in the documentary – however, it is a must-see for fans of the performer.

Madonna, a master of transformation, began her acting career as quirky, off-beat characters heavily influenced by the fashions and trends of the ’80s. When she ventured into a more dramatic role alongside then-husband Sean Penn in 1986’s Shanghai Surprise, her acting was generally panned. She had more success as she segued into femme fatale roles in the ’90s along with her evolving musical sound and latex-clad persona. Not having acted in a film since then-husband and director Guy Ritchie‘s 2002 remake of Swept Away, Madonna’s best films find her in roles that cater to her skills.

10 ‘Girl 6’ (1996)

Directed by Spike Lee

Girl 6, an often overlooked Spike Lee joint, follows Theresa Randle as Judy, a struggling actress who turns to phone sex work to make ends meet. With a soundtrack by Prince and a script by Suzan-Lori Parks, black comedy Girl 6 is full of crazy celebrity cameos either playing themselves, including director Ron Silver, or playing wink-wink bit parts, Madonna among them as Boss #3.

Girl 6 received mixed reviews from critics and audiences. The excellent performances from the cast could not elevate the lack of plot, and the stylish scenes could not provide a cohesive whole. Randle, specifically, was called out for her great performance and range as an actor, but viewers wished it was a better movie – with more interesting characters – that she was starring in. And fans watching for Madonna will be disappointed with her lack of screen time.

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9 ‘Dangerous Game’ (1993)

Directed by Abel Ferrara

Actor Harvey Keitel and director Abel Ferrara reteamed after Bad Lieutenant for Dangerous Game and brought Madonna into the fold. This psychological drama stars Keitel as the director of a film who pushes his leading actors (Madonna and James Russo) too far. As the lines between film and reality blur, the three spiral into a life filled with drugs and sex, Keitel’s character losing his family in the process.

Keitel is no stranger to portraying characters with self-destructive impulses, and viewers were not surprised that he excelled in this instance as well. What was a surprise to some, however, was Madonna’s sincere ability to portray an actress too affected by the roles she plays. Even though some viewers found Dangerous Game to be slightly nihilistic, Madonna’s convincing performance in this experimental movie-within-a-movie was lauded.

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8 ‘Body of Evidence’ (1992)

Directed by Uli Edel

Body of Evidence was one of several R-rated erotic thrillers that blew up the box office in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Unlike hits like Sliver, Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction, though, Body of Evidence was largely lambasted for being a poorly acted vanity project for Madonna. In the film, she attempts to channel Sharon Stone as Rebecca, a woman accused of killing her elderly husband during an intimate night together; Willem Dafoe plays her attorney and new lover, Frank.

At the time, Madonna was one of the most popular celebrities in the world, and Body of Evidence provided viewers an eyeful of her in several risqué love scenes with Dafoe; her coffee table book Sex came out the following year. The ho-hum script was called devoid of thrills and ludicrous, with the courtroom drama weighing down any excitement. On the plus side, Madonna definitely looked the part of a femme fatale.

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7 ‘The Next Best Thing’ (2000)

Directed by John Schlesinger

In The Next Best Thing, Madonna and Rupert Everett star as friends Abbie (a heterosexual woman) and Robert (a gay man), who have a child together after a one-night-stand. A nasty custody battle over their son ensues when Abbie attempts to move away with her new partner. This appealing LGTBQ+ comedy film was director John Schlesinger‘s last feature before he passed away in 2003.

Viewers were ultimately left wanting more of the performances in general, but acknowledged that Madonna and Everett’s chemistry was wonderful and the film’s heart was in the right place. The film was lauded for its balance of comedy and drama, as well as its focus on a mature and resilient friendship. Audiences enjoyed the sentimentality and charm of The Next Best Thing, as well as the topical questions it addressed.

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6 ‘Four Rooms’ (1995)

Directed by Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Alexandre Rockwell, Allison Anders

Director/writers Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Alexandre Rockwell and Allison Anders came together to create the anthology comedy Four Rooms, starring an impressive Tim Roth as The Bellhop. The four interlocking stories about deranged hotel guests on New Year’s Eve feature an all-star cast to middling effects. Audiences agreed that the high-stakes “The Man from Hollywood,” Tarantino’s segment starring Bruce Willis, was the stand-out vignette.

Madonna stars as Elsbeth in the first segment by Anders, “The Missing Ingredient,” and is cleverly cast as a member of a coven of witches. She leans into her “Bad Girl” persona of the mid-1990s donning a black latex dress, but the role didn’t require too much else of the performer. Overall, the segments were called uneven with varying quality; the latter half of the film proving to be better executed than the first.

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5 ‘Who’s That Girl’ (1987)

Directed by James Foley

Who’s That Girl is a screwball comedy movie starring Madonna as leather jacket-wearing Nikki and Griffin Dunne as uptight attorney Loudon. Nikki is sent to prison after being framed for murder, and released on parole four years later into the brief care of Loudon. This saccharine romp has nods to classics like Bringing Up Baby, complete with a cougar (this one named Murray).

A film dripping with ’80s nostalgia, Who’s That Girl was called a fast-paced satire of high society. Even though Nikki didn’t call for Madonna to stray too far from her wild child personality, she brought a fun quirkiness to the role that endeared her to viewers. While some audiences thought the film was corny, others found the lighthearted action-romance hilarious and charming.

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4 ‘Dick Tracy’ (1990)

Directed by Warren Beatty

In the comic strip-based noir Dick Tracy, Madonna doesn’t stray too far from her real life playing Breathless Mahoney, a lounge singer with a secret, and Warren Beatty plays the eponymous yellow-coated detective. All-time acting great Al Pacino has what looks like a blast chewing scenery as villain Big Boy Caprice, Breathless’ ruthless boss and Tracy’s enemy. The A-list roster of co-stars – including Dustin Hoffman, Glenne Headly, Kathy Bates and James Caan – also appropriately adjust their performances to fit into the campy spectacular.

Beatty directed this stylish, eye-popping cartoon of a film filled with bizarre characters and energetic musical numbers. Madonna fully took on her character, with her accompanying soundtrack – featuring “Hanky Panky” and arguably her most famous song to date, “Vogue” – being called I’m Breathless. ​The soundtrack also features three songs written by Stephen Sondheim: “What Can You Lose,” “More,” and the Oscar-winning “Sooner or Later,” which was a sexy show-stopper in the film.

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3 ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ (1985)

Directed by Susan Seidelman

Almost providing a time capsule of the 1980s, Desperately Seeking Susan stars Madonna as Susan and Rosanna Arquette as Roberta. Unfulfilled housewife Roberta lives vicariously through the personal ads sent in to the newspaper by Susan, eventually taking her on a journey of amnesia and mistaken identity. As the film follows the two through a series of unlikely events, their all-around coolness (in the ever-hip New York) provides viewers with a nostalgic fairy tale.

Desperately Seeking Susan was Madonna’s first leading role in a film, and her iconic look in it took over fashion trends of the time. Called fun and unconventional, the film relies on charm and being generally amusing instead of laugh-out-loud funny. Some viewers might wish for more depth to the narrative, but others thoroughly enjoy the ’80s nostalgia and consistent smiles the light dramedy instills.

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2 ‘Evita’ (1996)

Directed by Alan Parker

In one of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s best movie musicals, Madonna portrays the titular Evita, who transforms from struggling actress Eva Duarte to the wife of Juan Perón (Jonathan Pryce), the President of Argentina. Based on the real-life Eva Perón, the film also stars an energetic Antonio Banderas as narrator Ché and won an Oscar® for Madonna’s Best Original Song, “You Must Love Me.”

Audiences agreed that Evita was a wonderful adaptation of the stage musical, and that Madonna was the main reason for this. Given that Evita is a rock opera, most of the dialogue is sung, which provided a showcase for Madonna’s skilled vocals. Audiences and critics alike initially questioned her casting, but were happily treated to an inspired performance by the pop star. Carrying the film on her back, Madonna also won the Golden Globe that year for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy).

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1 ‘A League of Their Own’ (1992)

Directed by Penny Marshall

Unsurprisingly, baseball classic A League of Their Own is Madonna’s best and highest-rated film, both on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes (audience score). Set during WWII, the film follows the Rockford Peaches, a baseball team in an all-female league put together while the male players were away at war. The film was based on a true story and features career highlights for co-stars Geena Davis and Tom Hanks.

Madonna proves her acting chops as “All the Way” Mae,as well asprovides the acclaimed and catchy ballad that permeated radio stations, “This Used to be My Playground.” The film is often praised for its bittersweet tone, excellent performances and charming tribute to the real-life Peaches. Simple yet effective, A League of Their Own is humorous, emotional and perfectly cast.

A League of Their Own

Release Date

July 1, 1992

Rating

PG

Runtime

128

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