Madonna sidelined sex in favor of spectacle at her Super Bowl half-time show.
Her 12-minute set proved chaste and careful by her younger standards - no hint of nipple-gate, not a whiff of the calculated religious provocations of her live shows.
But it made up for its lack of shock-queen stunts with sheer fun, dazzle and, most of all, wit.
Surely no half-time act in the history of the Super Bowl has had the moxie , or cheek, to open with an army of dancers — dolled up like gladiators from some kitschy sword and sandal epic — parading around before a Romanesque queen (our Maddy) done up in gold.
Not since Liz Taylor appeared in "Cleopatra" has pop culture seen so large-scale a spectacle of camp. That in itself gave Madonna's half time show a subtle underlay of subversion.
She bold-faced it to those in the know it by opening with "Vogue," a song whose inspiration derives wholly from a once deeply closeted, gay black movement founded in Harlem.
The zest and humor of the show only escalated with a re-mixed version of "Music," which featured the cartoon-worthy guys from LMFAO mugging through their usual mock-sexy moves.
Madonna upped the animated quality of the event - and deepened her opportunistic connection to current youth culture - by featuring on her new single ("Give Me All Your Luvin'") the sight gag of the moment: Nicki Minaj.
Her staccato rap, and bombshell figure, added to the sense of the surreal. While another guest rapper M.I.A. got lost in the mix — despite apparently flashing the finger — the song's bubble gum snap held center stage regardless.
Like the song's video, the staging of it featured pom-pom pounding cheerleaders — , in the process swiftly reminding all those football fans who may have momentarily forgotten exactly where they were.
For a third, zany guest, Madonna brought the physically improbable Cee Lo Green to shimmy through "Open Your Heart" (enlivened by a quote from "Express Yourself").
Several vibrant drum lines doubled-up the rhythm. To make sure no one mistook Madonna's accent on the ridiculous for a flip take on the event itself, the star ended the show, all lady-like, with her mock-gospel "Like A Prayer."
It featured Cee-Lo hitting the high notes, the star in reverent black and a final, incoherent message promoting "World Peace."
Madonna-phobes will no doubt carp that, in all likelihood, she lip-synched. Certainly it looked that way. But in a show that's about flash and winks, who cares? She most definitely delivered on the surprise and joy she promised. And so - most assuredly not for the first time in her life - Madonna scored.
