Madonna and the Breakfast Club

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Sympathetic portrait of Madonna's early days in New York, based on period recordings, images and video, supplemented by interviews of people who were there and pitch-perfect recreations. Follow her growth from aspiring dancer at the University of Michigan to struggling dancer/ actress/ drummer/ guitar player and finally lead singer. At each roadblock in her path, she learned new skills, took more responsibility and willed her career forward, despite the doubts of those around her. Even her biggest detractors should find a greater admiration and respect for her early talent, drive and ambition to transform herself into the pop icon she knew she could be.

The premise behind this documentary / reenactment is fantastic: Interviews with the musicians that were a part of Madonna's rise to fame. Stories aren't often told of Madonna's early years with the Breakfast Club and Emmy. And while there were many interesting tales they get bogged down with too many interviews and reenactments.

This was categorized as a documentary on Hulu. And it kind of is. It's a documentary in that it has interview with people who knew Madonna in her younger years. It's mostly reenactment footage there. There is some actual footage and photos of Madonna in her younger years, but not as much as a typical documentary. Madonna fans will still appreciate it though.

When I saw the trailer for this movie, I got very intrigued. I realized I don't know much about Madonna, before she went solo, so I definitely wanted to see this title. It is not the best documentary you will ever see, but it is interesting as it is a mix of the standard documentary format and some reconstructed scenes from Madonna's life. The girl they chose for Madonna's role is a complete doppelganger and really well does her part. The movie features interviews with different people from the early Madonna's life and there are some pretty interesting points they show. The best thing in the movie are however some super early features of home recordings of Madonna talking to then her boyfriend and some very early Madonna punk songs (yes, punk). I was extremely interested to hear those. There are some very early videos as well (not music videos). And now I realize why she was never a punk star - while some songs were not bad, her voice never sounded well with punk music. It was always meant for pop-music, so she is now exactly where she must be. What I like is that the movie is overall very positive from beginning to the end. For Madonna's fans - a must-see!

The film is a documentary about Madonna, which includes a little bit about the Breakfast Club. It includes a lot of actual footage and stills. Jamie Auld does an excellent job playing Madonna as they filled in the story with re-enactments. It was interesting up until she does her first album with Sire. After that, we know the story. This is a positive image of Madonna. Even her * photos didn't show us anything except for some upper pubes.

The only interesting part of this movie is to see a lot of old photos and some video of Madonna that I have never seen before as well as some recording her ex, Dan Gilmore, took when they were living in NYC of them talking about whatever. Dan Gilmore gets to talk way more than he should have been able because he is incredibly boring; he just likes to talk so his story is so drawn out - he should have been edited much better. This film was an hour and 45 minutes long, at least an hour longer than necessary.

Madonna is one of my most favorite female artists. This film explains about how Madonna worked hard to become this world-famous icon. Some of the commentators, include Dan Gilroy and former band members of the Breakfast Club. The beginning of this film mentions the Mercy Hospital, where Madonna was born at around Detroit. I figured that Madonna named one of her adopted daughters, Mercy, after the Mercy Hospital. The beginning of the film also explains the years Madonna was growing up in. Then, the film explains how she dropped out of college and took a plane trip to her dance classes in New York in '78. Back in '78 or '79, Madonna dropped out of her dance classes, and took a trip to Paris to work for Patrick Hernandez, the French disco artist. Patrick is one of the people who influenced the disco beats in Madonna's pop career. Madonna was a backup singer for Patrick's 1979 World Tour, before she got romantically involved with her then boyfriend, Dan Gilroy. Then, Madonna moved in to live with Dan Gilroy at an abandoned synagogue, and to form the Breakfast Club band. Dan Gilroy was one of the lead singers. Madonna also sang in the band, while playing the drums and guitar. Some of the Breakfast Club songs have influenced her career. For example, I figured that the lyrics to one of the Breakfast Club songs ,"Again and again over and over", probably influenced Madonna's solo song "Over and Over", Track 4 of "Like a Virgin" (album). In '80 or '81, Madonna and her Breakfast Club did not get along well with each other, resulting in Madonna's breakup with Dan Gilroy. However, Madonna got along well with Stephen Bray and tried to form bands together. Stephen Bray was the one who helped Madonna come up with her very first dance hit, "Everybody," around the same time Madonna realized she would be better off going solo. Madonna had to perform her hit "Everybody" in various shows, in order to take the risk to jumpstart her pop career. Honestly, I am not going to mention which one of her first solo albums this documentary ends with, because that would be a spoiler. However, I am a big fan of Madonna, and I have been listening to her religiously. I am looking forward to seeing Madonna in person at the Chicago Theatre this October 2019. "Madonna and the Breakfast Club" is worth something to watch before seeing Madonna in person. If Madonna had not separated herself from the Breakfast Club and gone solo, they would have gone more downhill than the fictional band, "Spinal Tap." However, I thank the Breakfast Club for trying to maintain band status and for being part of this Madonna documentary. This documentary will teach old and new Madonna fans, about how Madonna started her solo pop career.

I'm a die-hard Madonna fan and enjoyed the details about her New York life in the 70s before she became famous. The casting director should win an Oscar for finding the actress who plays Madonna. Even as a fan it was hard to tell them apart! I don't like re-enactments in documentaries in general, but loved seeing the real photos and locations. Proves wanna-be stars were taking selfies long before social media!

Wow! the actress (samantha nicole dunn) looks more like madonna than madonna! a quite enjoyable biography of her early years, and her love affair with chris martin lookalike (dan gilroy, played by calvin knie) amongst many other things . . .