It also contains songs by her label mates Scritti Politti, Duncan Faure, Club Nouveau, Coati Mundi and Michael Davidson.

However, due to the critical and commercial failure of her adventure film Shanghai Surprise (1986), Warner Bros. was initially reluctant to greenlight the project but later agreed.

The 1985 comedy film Desperately Seeking Susan, in which Madonna co-starred, was a commercial success, prompting her to take further interest in acting.

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

"[2] However, in the light of the bad publicity surrounding Madonna and her then-husband Sean Penn, coupled with the fact that their comedy film Shanghai Surprise had failed commercially, she had to fight hard to persuade Warner Bros. to greenlight the project.

Foley had previously directed the music videos of her songs "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach" and "True Blue".

Having some specific ideas in her mind about the music of the film, Madonna contacted Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, who had helped to write and produce her third studio album True Blue in 1986.

[5] Madonna was inspired by the look that actor James Stewart gave actress Grace Kelly in the 1954 film Rear Window.

[6] In a Rolling Stone article dated September 10, 1987, Madonna spoke about Penn's impact on her life and the song: "I don't like violence.

"[7] The title track is composed in Madonna's typical style—mixing a drum machine, bubbling bass synth line, and the sound of stringed instruments.

[8] The song epitomized Madonna's interest in Hispanic culture that continued after the release of her 1987 single "La Isla Bonita".

[8] "Who's That Girl" also makes use of the sonic effect brought about by the combination of multiple vocal lines, which had been previously used by groups like The Beach Boys in their singles "God Only Knows" (1966) and "I Get Around" (1964) as well as R.E.M.

Rooksby felt that Madonna's voice sounded "expressive" when she sings the line "From the look of love" and utters the word "look" over the D minor chord present underneath.

[2] J. Randy Taraborrelli, in his book Madonna: An Intimate Biography, described Faure's song "24 Hours" as a slow track that fails to build up momentum.

For the costumes, she collaborated with designer Marlene Stewart, expanding on the idea of bringing her music video characters to life on stage.

It was criticized by music reviewers for being a sub-standard Madonna single,[33] but enjoyed commercial success, reaching the top ten in New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

[41] Described by Joe Brown of The Washington Post as "gratingly banal" and its singer as "one of Madonna's photogenic protegés",[13] the song was a success on the Dance Club charts of Billboard, peaking at number 15.

[33][44] Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly gave a negative review, though Noah Robischon from the same magazine complimented the title track, saying that Madonna had "pushed synergy over the borderline.

[48] Taraborrelli commented that "the soundtrack was once again the reminder of Madonna's power and status as one of the most important singers of the 80s, because it was only her songs which gained prominence, albeit not being her best, though 'The Look of Love' is an exotic ballad.

"[43] Ed Blank from Pittsburgh Press commented: "It feels like the sole purpose to create the soundtrack was to show it in the film.

"[52] Jay Boyar from Orlando Sentinel praised the songs on the soundtrack, claiming that "Madonna brings forth a heart-breaking warmth in 'The Look of Love' and a club stomping feel with 'Causing a Commotion'.

"[54] Don McLeese from Chicago Sun-Times, while reviewing Madonna's Who's That Girl World Tour, said that "the soundtrack's songs sound good live".

"[56] Stephen Holden from The New York Times gave an equally positive review, saying that the "soundtrack album is full of engaging pop fluff.

One of the hottest singles of the year, Madonna's bilingual title song has the buoyant bounce of an acrobat doing somersaults on a trampoline.

'The Look of Love' is as memorable a ballad as [Madonna's 1986 single] 'Live to Tell', and '24 Hours', sung by Duncan Faure, skillfully fuses Beatles-styled vocals with 80's synthesizer-pop underpinnings.

"[57] Daniel Brogan from Chicago Tribune said that "since this soundtrack isn't really a Madonna album, this is no surprise that it appears as incomplete.

[60] It remained on the chart for twenty-eight weeks,[60] and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of one million copies across the United States.

[81] In the Encyclopedia of World Biography (1998), authors explained that in this era, unlike the movie, both the soundtrack and its accompanied tour achieved commercial success.

[82] In 1989, Orlando Sentinel discussed successful movie soundtracks from 1930s to that point, where Who's That Girl was included among the examples, highlighting Madonna's participation of four singles.

[83] In a report from British Phonographic Industry, according to Nigle Hunter from Billboard, the release was called an "easy winner as the most popular original soundtrack album in 1987" on pair with Dirty Dancing.