Shanghai Surprise

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Shanghai Surprise

PG-13

1986

1h 37m

Crime

Drama

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Popcornmeter

20%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

15%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Glendon Wasey (Sean Penn) is a sleazy, down-on-his-luck con man struggling to sell glow-in-the-dark neckties in Shanghai. When he encounters the lovely Gloria Tatlock (Madonna), a nurse who wants to obtain a supply of opium to ease the suffering of her patients, he decides to help her get hold of a stolen supply of the valuable drug. The only problem is that a lot of other people want to secure the stolen opium as well -- gangsters, smugglers, thugs and a host of dangerous lowlifes.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

09/03/2016

It feels, more than anything, like the duo went looking for a movie they could co-star in, and this was the only script that was lying around.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

09/13/2022

3/5

…a silly screwball farce, short on stunts or visceral action and clearly missing some scenes, but as a retro star vehicle, it’s out-of-stepness with the 80’s provides added value today…

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Phil Hall

EDGE Boston

04/10/2007

0/5

Madonna's incompetent performance secured her reputation as a no-talent actress...and, to date, she still hasn't been able to shake that reputation.

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Betsy Bozdech

DVDJournal.com

11/06/2006

.5/4

The sight of the Material Girl in bobby socks and a prim blue suit is one of the few funny things in the movie; too bad the laughs are unintentional.

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Boyd van Hoeij

european-films.net

06/10/2006

3/5

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

09/04/2005

2/5

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alan g

@agenser Mar 15

One of the worst movies ever made. Soundly panned universally. Madonna as a missionary? Please. Sean Panned as a sleezy con man? Absolutely.

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John S

09/24/2024

It really is a bad movie. But not nearly the worst I've ever seen. I don't need to watch it again though. (Ever.)

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Steve D

03/05/2023

No Surprise here. It is really bad.

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sean g

09/29/2022

I was surprised I really like this movie, only the second Madonna movie I have seen from start to finish. The movie is great from the get go, like a indian Jones movie, Madonna and Sean Penn act their socks off and make this movie great, the rest of the cast are great too, action drama and surprise 10/10

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04/18/2021

A remake of "Macao" would have served them better and displayed fewer embarrassing Asian stereotypes.

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06/23/2020

Bubble Gum love with both in their Prime.

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Jim Goddard

Director

Sean Penn

Glendon Wasey

Madonna

Gloria Tatlock

Paul Freeman

Walter Faraday

Richard Griffiths

Willite Tuttle

Philip Sayer

Justin Kronk

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Synopsis

Glendon Wasey (Sean Penn) is a sleazy, down-on-his-luck con man struggling to sell glow-in-the-dark neckties in Shanghai. When he encounters the lovely Gloria Tatlock (Madonna), a nurse who wants to obtain a supply of opium to ease the suffering of her patients, he decides to help her get hold of a stolen supply of the valuable drug. The only problem is that a lot of other people want to secure the stolen opium as well -- gangsters, smugglers, thugs and a host of dangerous lowlifes.

Director: Jim Goddard
Producer: John Kohn
Screenwriter: John Kohn
Production Co: Handmade Films, The Vista Organisation
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 2, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.2M
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Surround

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