Madonna's 'Shanghai Surprise' Flops: Critics Slam It as a Major Misfire
Madonna's 'Shanghai Surprise' Flops: Critics Slam It as a Major Misfire
Lily Elizabeth BolanosSun, August 30, 2026 at 1:57 AM UTC
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Between Madonna, Sean Penn, and George Harrison, one would think that something good could come out of their collaboration. Unfortunately, 40 years ago, what Hollywood got was Shanghai Surprise.
On August 29, 1986, Madonna and Penn, newlyweds at the time, starred in Jim Goddard’s adventure comedy Shanghai Surprise.
The film was an adaptation of Tony Kenrick’s novel Faraday’s Flowers. It follows Penn as con man Glendon Wasey, who is struggling to make it in Shanghai. Gloria Tatlock, a missionary nurse played by Madonna, is attempting to get her hands on opium to help medicate suffering patients. Glendon agrees to help Gloria steal some of the opium as well. Unfortunately, they are not the only people who want the valuable drug, and not all of them are as pure of heart as Gloria seems to be.
George Harrison, the lead guitarist for the Beatles, produced the film and starred as a nightclub singer. He also recorded music for Shanghai Surprise’s soundtrack, though the official album was never released.
Madonna was the IT girl of the 1980s, and her album Like a Virgin was a hit, and Penn had become a household name after his performance in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The pair had an incredibly high-profile, tabloid-worthy relationship.
Despite supposedly being an adventure, the story is largely unexciting. The film takes place entirely in the city, and despite a handful of gruesome scenes and explosions, the story ends up falling a bit flat.
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The film bombed. Critics eviscerated the film, and it failed to break even, grossing just over $2 million on a $17 million budget. The film was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, the award for worst film performances that year. Madonna won a Razzie for Worst Actress.
Madonna was new to acting, but had received positive reviews for Desperately Seeking Susan. There was a lot of pressure to prove herself as an actor. Yet, under the microscope, she buckled, and her Shanghai Surprise performance was a train wreck from start to finish. It would take a long time before she was taken seriously again as an actor, but her continuous success as a musician never ended, not really. Even now, Madonna recently released her album Confessions II.
Madonna recalled years later to Far Out, “The director turned out to not know what he was doing.” She said, “We were on a ship without a captain and we were so miserable while we were working on it that I’m sure it shows.”
She also explained Penn “railroaded” the film. “I kind of let him make a lot of the decisions that I shouldn’t have allowed him to make. I was so green. I just found myself in a situation where I felt completely bullied and out of control, and I didn’t know what was going on, and it was not pleasant.”
Ironically, a major criticism of the film, besides Madonna’s acting, was that she and Penn had no chemistry. Their acting styles weren’t even compatible. Maybe it was an omen or foreshadowing. Madonna and Penn had only just gotten married when the film was made and divorced before the decade was over. Rumors of divorce and friction in the relationship emerged right when Shanghai Surprise was released in 1986.
Luckily for everyone who likes a bad movie, Shanghai Surprise is free to watch on YouTube.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Aug 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
