Madonna (54 page)

She was equally combative about the public's moral laxity surrounding former husband Sean Penn, who had two children out of wedlock since she had divorced him. According to her:

Sean finally married Robin Wright, but it was not an option for Madonna: “I think that everyone should get married at least once, so you can see what a silly, outdated institution it is.” (254)

Her impending motherhood was bound to change her life in many ways. For one thing, upon learning of her pregnancy, Madonna promptly put her garish Hollywood Hills mansion up for sale. She then moved to a single-story home in the Los Feliz neighborhood that writer James M. Cain made famous in his film noir novel
Double Indemnity
. Apparently, she wanted a more baby-friendly layout, and the 1926 Spanish-style mansion she found fit her perfectly.

Her pregnancy caused her to reevaluate her life. The birth experience and
Evita
transformed her into a more philosophical person than she had been. “I waited so long for this movie, and it finally happened. I wanted so badly to have a child, and I got pregnant while making the movie. Suddenly, God gave me two gifts that were very important to me.” (252)

Control freak that she is, this was probably the first aspect of her life that Madonna did not scheme to obtain since having become an international singing star. According to her, “You have no control with being pregnant. Things just happen and you have to hope for the best. I had to do that with Alan. I have approached work from a completely different, more submissive point of view. In the beginning I really forgot it, and finally I realized that I had to have a heap of faith. It was a real letting-go process for me. It's prepared me for having a child.” (246)

Of all the times in Madonna's life, how ironic it was that the baby would compete with the single most important project of her career. It could have turned out quite disastrously, but it didn't. “I never had morning sickness,” she proudly proclaimed. “A couple of times, I got dizzy and a little nauseous. I attributed that to the incredible heat in Argentina and the long hours. It was gone by the time I found out I was pregnant. I was more worried about my stomach showing. My only sense of terror was, ‘I'm not going to fit my
[Evita]
costumes!' “ (252)

However, once the movie wrapped, she relaxed and concentrated on her pregnancy. “It was cool to eat whatever I wanted. It was nice to have that freedom.” (252) Still, her pregnancy forced her to remove the gold navel ring from her belly button. For a couple of months Madonna did the unthinkable: she withdrew from the public eye to relax and enjoy her pregnancy. Her close friend Rosie O'Donnell gave her a baby shower. Otherwise, Madonna awaited the birth of her child and the release of
Evita
.

Although she longed to be taken seriously, critics dogged her constantly about her motivation for having a baby at this time in her life. She complained, “People have accused me of getting pregnant for the publicity, because I've run out of things to do.” (246)

Predictably, the press had a field day with Madonna's pregnancy. Jay Leno joked about it on TV's
Tonight Show
. Newspaper cartoonists had a fine time drawing cone-shaped brassieres that were designed for nursing. Madonna complained in her
Vanity Fair-
magazine
Evita
diary that social critic Camille Paglia wrote that the pregnant Ms. Ciccone was unable to sustain a serious bond with any man, and that the public's concern for the child was legitimate. According to Madonna, “Everything I do is scrutinized, so I shouldn't be surprised that it continued when I was pregnant. I try to have a sense of humor about it, but it does irritate me…. My having a child is not for public consumption. It's not a career move. It's not a performance to be judged and rated. Nor is my role as a mother.” (252)

Of all possible methods of childbirth available to Madonna, so-called “natural” childbirth was not an option. “My sister had natural childbirth, no drugs, and she doesn't pretend it was a fucking day at the beach,” she explained. “I'm not interested in being Wonder Woman in the delivery room. Give me drugs. Sometimes I get really wimpy and think I'm just going to have a C-section. I don't want to go through all this.” (246)

On October 14, 1996, having experienced her first labor pains at 3:30 in the morning, she checked into Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. By noon, the only thing she had experienced was ravenous hunger. Waiting for the baby to arrive, Madonna groaned, “I just want some French fries from McDonald's.” (271)

Finally, by 3:30 that afternoon, her doctor suggested that a Caesar-ean section be performed, since she was in pain and had not gone into labor. The Material Girl agreed. While being rolled into surgery, heavily sedated, she quipped in true Hollywood fashion, “Goodbye, everyone. Pm going to get my nose job now.” (271) Soon after, doctors delivered her daughter. Weight: six pounds, nine ounces. Name: Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. According to Madonna, “This is the greatest miracle of my life.” Proud father Carlos Leon said “She's the most beautiful baby.” (271)

Madonna, who the church had nearly banned in the past, pondered little Lourdes' spiritual upbringing: “I'll teach her about Catholicism, but also about all religions, especially Buddhism, Judaism, and the Kabbalah [ancient Jewish lore]. My own religion combines all those. I would rather present the Bible to my daughter as ‘Some very interesting stories you could learn from,' rather than ‘This is the rule.' “ (252)

Never one to follow in anyone else's footsteps, Madonna had already decided to do things uniquely her way. “The last thing I'm going to do is raise my children the way I see a lot of celebrities raising their children now. I don't want to traipse around with nannies and tutors. I think it's really important for children to stay in one place and to socialize with other children. I had that, and I want my child to have it. I'm not saying I don't want to go on tour or make movies anymore, but I realize I'm going to have to make a lot of compromises, and I'm comfortable with that.” (246)

Leaving the hospital with Lourdes, Madonna announced, “I just can't wait to wear anything with a waistline.” She also wanted to keep press photographers away from her new baby girl. She issued the edict, “I won't be doing anything in public with my daughter until she's much older.”

Although she kept little Lourdes out of the scrutiny of press photographers, her media extravaganza was just beginning as the premiere of
Evita
swiftly approached.

In October 1996, the month Lourdes was born, the first single from the
Evita
soundtrack was released. It was the new composition “You Must Love Me.” According to Madonna at the time, “It's my favorite song from the movie. It's just so beautiful.” (266)

On record, as in the movie,
Evita
allowed Madonna to step out of her bigger-than-life persona. She turned both the soundtrack album and all three of its singles into hits. The somber but touching “You Must Love Me” peaked at Number Eighteen and received a lot of solid radio airplay. As the only new song written for the movie, it was the only song eligible for an Academy Award nomination. “Don't Cry for Me Argentina” peaked at Number Eight, making it her 33rd Top-10 single on the American Pop charts in twelve years. The lushly orchestrated two-disk original soundtrack album premiered on
Billboard's
album chart at Number Six, ultimately peaking at Number Two. It was certified double Platinum in the United States for sales in excess of two million copies. A maxi-single disco version of “Don't Cry for Me Argentina” was also released and quickly became a Number One hit on the Dance charts. In addition to Madonna singing a half-Spanish-language version of the song, it was remixed in six different versions and sung in a completely different tempo than the highly orchestrated, original-soundtrack version. In Europe only, a third single, “Another Suitcase in Another Hall,” was also released and made it to Number Seven in England. A single made in Germany put all three of Madonna's
Evita
hits (“Another Suitcase in Another Hall,” “You Must Love Me,” and the “Miami Mix Edit” of “Don't Cry for Me Argentina”), along with a fourth cut from the film, “Hello and Goodbye,” on one single disk.

Like an elaborately wrapped Christmas present laid under a holiday tree, the film
Evita
was released on December 25, 1996, in New York City and Los Angeles. It opened across the country on January 10, 1997, just in time to qualify for that spring's Academy Awards nominations.

No one was more proud of the job she had done in
Evita
than Madonna herself, to the point of being very vocal about it. “There's such a fleshed-out story now that the film barely resembles the stage production, and thank God,” she said.

With rare exception, the film
Evita
remains faithful to the original Broadway production, except that Madonna sings two more songs than Patti LuPone sang. Not only does Madonna have “You Must Love Me,” but the third most famous song of the score, “Another Suitcase in Another Hall,” was given to her as well. Originally, the song was sung by Peron pre-Eva mistress, as she is dismissed from his life. In the film Madonna sings it earlier, to underscore her breakup with Migaldi. When the other mistress is seen, she sings only one line of the song that once belonged to her character. This was clearly Madonna's movie, and all of the most memorable songs were hers.

A couple of lines of the song “Rainbow Tour,” which had been part of the Broadway soundtrack, were scissored from the movie. They addressed Evita's disdain for the British and the insult of having tea in some “tin pot castle.” The word in Buenos Aires was that this inflammatory, unflattering passage was removed as part of Menem's agreement to let the Casa Rosada be used in the film.

There were also some ironically amusing “Madonna” moments in the film. In one scene Eva Peron meets with the Pope in Rome. That one brief moment, amidst the Rainbow Tour segment, was worth a chuckle, because that is about as close to an audience with the Pope as the real-life Madonna will ever come. Then there is the scene where Madonna, as a cancer-stricken Eva, faints in a church, and for a quick flash it is a deja vu reminder of her “Like a Prayer” video. And the “Rainbow High” number is just a 1940s version of “Vogue” revisited.

Ask any three people their opinion of Madonna in
Evita
, and chances are that you will receive three different answers. One will love it, one will hate it, and the third will say, “Well, she didn't ruin it.” For Madonna's fans,
Evita
was the ultimate star vehicle for her, and she made the most out of it. Madonna is more focused and fascinating than she has ever appeared on screen. She is glamorously photographed throughout, especially in the middle segments, where she brings to life Eva Peron's ascension up the social ladder. Her tango dancing is lively and exciting, and in
Evita
she does some of the best singing of her career.

For many, her singing never approached the fiery Broadway bravado of Patti LuPone. And for some, it was impossible to forget Madonna was singing about Eva Peron without ever convincingly becoming her. Leonard Maltin's
Movie & Video Guide
called
Evita
“the world's longest music video,” complaining that “as a pageant, it works, but there is no emotional center, leaving the viewer aloof from its leading character from start to finish.” He went on to point out, “Madonna parades (and sings) well enough,” but that Pryce and Banderas “bring it to life.” (264)

Yet,
Q
magazine's Paul Du Noyer proclaimed, “If there was ever an ideal vehicle for Madonna's dream of transcendent stardom, this must be it…. The soundtrack carries some of her most commanding vocal efforts so far. Cleverly, her singing develops with the plot. When she's a callow showgirl, hustling her way from the pampas to Buenos Aires, you hear the old Ciccone squeak. But there is maturity and richness in her rendition of the dying Evita's swan song.” (268)

Siskel and Ebert gave the film “two thumbs up.” ABC-TV in New York called it “unforgettable,” while
Newsweek
referred to it as “spectacular.”
Time
magazine, ABC-TV, and
The Boston Globe
all listed it on their year's “Ten Best” films. Even the country music magazine
Twang
declared, “Madonna has finally become a movie star, and, because of her,
Evita
is a smash…. She has not only landed the role of a lifetime, she charges it with lively conviction.” (272)

Time
magazine's Richard Corliss gave a glowing review entitled “You Must Love Her” in its December 16, 1996, issue. “It's a relief to say that Alan Parker's film, which opens on Christmas Day, is pretty damn fine, well cast and handsomely visualized—easily the best adaptation of a Broadway-style musical in decades…. Madonna once again confounds our expectations…. She does a tough score proud. Lacking the vocal vigor of Elaine Paige's West End
Evita
, Madonna plays Evita with a poignant weariness…. She has more than just a bit of star quality…. Love or hate Madonna-Eva, she is a magnet for all eyes. You must watch her…. You must see
Evita
” (273)