GUESS who gets custody of the directing talent?
Given Madonna’s utter failure to master acting in a lengthy screen career that’s included such legendary bombs as “Shanghai Surprise” and “Swept Away,” it’s not exactly surprising that her directing debut, “Filth and Wisdom,” is thoroughly inept in just about every aspect.
Madge’s idea of pushing the envelope seems stuck somewhere in the early 1980s, when the idea of a male dominatrix (annoying Ukranian singer Eugene Hutz) and a pole dancer (Holly Weston) might seem remotely shocking. It’s certainly been a long time since we heard David Rose’s “The Stripper” (1962) in a movie.
Co-written by one of Guy Ritchie’s former gofers, the relentlessly tedious “Filth and Wisdom” is set in Madge’s (now apparently former) adopted home of London. It’s peopled by a collection of racial stereotypes, including an Indian druggist and a Jewish couple that will win her no friends in the kabbalah set.
Running time: 81 minutes. Not rated (profanity, sexuality, drugs). At the IFC Center, Sixth Avenue and Third Street.