Madonna & Graham review – it’s ‘gay heaven’ when Kylie arrives

Tower Bridge straddles the Thames like, say, Madonna in Like a Virgin: Piccadilly lights, Ray of Light vibes and Graham bricking it in a black cab. Madonna whispers “thank you for coming” as I Feel So Free kicks in, and the special gets under way with an opening big enough to accommodate “the incomparable Madonna” in the final countdown to Confessions II.

Norton, nervy and starstruck, heads to Koko where archive footage escorts him into a red, spotlit theatre and there she is: shoulder-padded teal silk, fingerless gloves and custom Yves Saint Laurent boots from the Confessions tour. They talk about finding a community on the dance floor—“Dancing is in my DNA”—and she recalls Menjo’s in 1970s Detroit and Christopher Flynn, “the first gay man I met.” Norton: “Not the last …” Madonna: “Definitely not the last!” The middle section feels oddly stilted.

With Stuart Price and Kylie as guests, the film switches between listening to new tracks and clipped segments about the influence of Detroit techno and Chicago house on Confessions II.

United Kingdom, London

madonna, graham norton, kylie, confessions ii, detroit techno, chicago house, stuart price, koko, menjo's, tower bridge