There\u2019s a \u201cnoble tradition\u201d of pop stars \u201cputting on extravaganzas\u201d in public toilets, said Ed Potton in The Times<\/u><\/a>. \u201cNever before, though, have we had a WC this full of VIPs.\u201d<\/p>\n Madonna\u2019s new 14-minute short film \u201cConfessions II\u201d, which marks the release of her latest album, features a \u201cfull-throttle celebrity perv-rave\u201d in a nightclub loo packed with famous faces from Richard E. Grant to Benedict Cumberbatch. The Queen of Pop has delivered the kind of OTT, \u201cbells-and-whistles music video\u201d that seemed to be \u201con the way out\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In much the same way Madonna\u2019s \u201cVogue\u201d music video became \u201cshorthand\u201d for \u201c\u2018pointy tits\u2019\u201d thanks to her pink conical bra, \u201cConfessions II\u201d will be remembered as the \u201cvagina laser video\u201d, said Zoe Williams in The Guardian<\/u><\/a>. This time, the star must traverse a shadowy forest dodging green laser beams that fire from the dancers\u2019 crotches in a symbol of \u201clife force and unstoppable orgone energy\u201d.<\/p>\n Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \nSUBSCRIBE & SAVE\n<\/p>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In one of the \u201cclever scenes, Madonna literally morphs\u201d into Julia Garner \u2013 the actor who is set to play her in her \u201clong-gestating, self-directed biographical film\u201d, said Joey Nolfi in Entertainment Weekly<\/u><\/a>. She also \u201cleans even more into embracing artists\u201d who have followed her lead, such as Sabrina Carpenter<\/a>. \u201cThe baton isn\u2019t passed as much as it\u2019s entrusted to artists who directly (Garner) and indirectly (Carpenter) walk in Madonna\u2019s light.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, she storms into the club bathroom where Chelsea footballers Cole Palmer and Jo\u00e3o Pedro \u201clook around in alarm\u201d from the urinal \u201cas you would if the Queen of Pop sashayed past when you were having a wazz\u201d, said Potton in The Times. \u201cHide the cocaine!\u201d she sings before the camera cuts to Kate Moss flipping her hair in the mirror and dancing in slow-mo. Cumberbatch delivers some \u201ctextbook dad dancing\u201d; \u201ccruelly dressed\u201d in a suit, he looks like \u201ca City trader who has stumbled into a cool party and whipped off his tie to try and blend in\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cConfessions II\u201d is more than just a \u201cflashy, star-studded commercial\u201d for Madonna\u2019s new album, said Nolfi in Entertainment Weekly. \u201cIt\u2019s a powerful meditation on her legacy, her future, and how the world sees her as she reaches a new dawn in a storied life that\u2019s largely played out in arenas beyond her control.\u201d<\/p>\n The film will have \u201cgenerated exactly the response she will have hoped for\u201d, said Dan Wakeford in The Independent<\/u><\/a>. Cameos from the eclectic assortment of celebrities have us \u201cagog, debating who we are most thrilled to see sharing a frame\u201d. But she\u2019s also created a dance floor where \u201cbarriers between worlds have come down entirely\u201d. The inclusion of the prestigious actor Cumberbatch is a \u201cdeliberate provocation\u201d, telling us \u201chigh culture and club culture are the same culture\u201d and it\u2019s \u201ccool to include someone who has no business being there\u201d.<\/p>\n\u2018Hide the cocaine!\u2019<\/h2>\n
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