[2] James Foley, who had worked with the singer on her music videos for "Papa Don't Preach" and "Live to Tell" (1986), was chosen at her own request to direct the film.

[2][3] Originally titled Slammer, in the movie Madonna plays Nikki Finn, a young woman accused of homicide who, after being released on parole, becomes determined to clear her name.

Along with Loudon Trott (played by Griffin Dunne), she gets caught up in "36 hours of high adventure", culminating in a scene where she interrupts a wedding to reveal the identity of the real murderer.

[4] Madonna began working on the soundtrack in March 1987; having some specific ideas in her mind about the music of the film, the singer contacted Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, who had helped to write and produce her third studio album True Blue.

[11] Daryl Easlea, one of the authors of Madonna: Blond Ambition, wrote that "Who's That Girl" continued the singer's exploration of Latin music, which she had already introduced on her previous single "La Isla Bonita".

[18] Stephen Holden, from The New York Times, opined that, "[the movie] may not have burned up the box office, but [...] Madonna's bilingual title song has the buoyant bounce of an acrobat doing somersaults on a trampoline".

[20][12] Robert Matthew-Walker wrote: "if 'light and airy' describes Madonna's performance [in Who's That Girl], such a phrase can also be aptly applied to the title song [...] a delightful mixture of English and Spanish/Puerto Rican [...] a generous compliment to mid-1980s New York".

[21] "Written solely for the purpose of promoting her lead role in the film of the same name [...] 'Who's That Girl', in many ways, represents two significant aspects of Madonna's career: 1.

[24] An opinion that was shared by Joe Brown, from The Washington Post, who added that, "truth be told, her Berlitz treatment does render the repetitiveness of the lyrics more lilting".

[26] Similarly, Joe Morgan from Gay Star News said that, despite not being "the best time [Madonna] was influenced by Spain, it certainly [isn't] the worst [...] [it's] a great fun song".

Club, Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that, even though it lacks the "freshness" of "La Isla Bonita", "there’s a slightly haunted quality to the delivery of the titular phrase that lets 'Who’s That Girl' linger after it’s done playing".

[1] Despite pointing out its "slick and strong" beats, Tom Breihan called "Who's That Girl" mediocre and uninspired, adding that it sounded as if "[Madonna and Leonard] had taken everything they'd just done on 'La Isla Bonita' and hit[ting] repeat".

[15] The singer's vocals were criticized by Brown for being "electronically speeded up, smoothed, sweetened and split into Chipmunk harmonies [...] she comes out sounding like a computer-generated clone".

[44][45] In Music & Media's European Airplay Top 50, "Who's That Girl" debuted at number 3 on July 18, 1987, the highest entry in the chart's history according to the magazine.

[49] It peaked at number two, just behind Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett's "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.

[63] Production was in charge of James Foley and Joel Stillman for Broadcast Arts Inc.[64] It alternates footage from Who's That Girl, with scenes of Madonna decked out as a "hip Latina", with an oversized grey jacket over a black bustier, short pants, pork pie hat, and spiky brown hair.

The kids and the man then take her to a darkened room, where she meets a fortune teller; the woman shows Madonna the High Priestess tarot card, which displays a caricature of her character Nikki Finn.

The singer looks up and discovers the woman's disappeared; she then finds a key to a chest containing a shiny white crystal, which reflects an animated sequence of the Nikki Finn caricature.

[10] Upon release, critical reviews ranged from positive to mixed; Matthew Rettenmund compared the singer's appearance in the video to that of Michael Jackson, and applauded the clip for being "movie-plugging", yet strong enough to "stand[s] alone".

[68] Elliot also noted nods to the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a character he felt Madonna had already referenced on her music video for "Open Your Heart" (1986).

[69] A less favorable review came from Vincent Canby, writing for The New York Times; according to him, the video's purpose was to promote the film, but ended up showcasing "everything that's least attractive about it".

[71][72] At the end of the performance, she stepped out to the front of the darkened stage and sang the phrase Who's that girl repeatedly in a "sad chant that became increasingly self-absorbed and haunting".

[79] In 1998, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra made an instrumental version of the song for Material Girl: RPO Plays Music of Madonna.