Synopsis

"Weird Al" Yankovic turns a hospital into an absurd pop stage in this parody of Madonna's "Like a Virgin." Wearing surgical scrubs, he rolls through the corridors on a gurney, bungles medical procedures, and leads a staff of distracted doctors and nurses through a series of visual gags. The video mixes slapstick, mock medical drama, and deliberately cheap-looking effects, while borrowing imagery and choreography from several Madonna videos. A recurring lion, chaotic surgery, and a final dance number complete the deliberately overstuffed comedy routine.

Factoids & Trivia

• The song and video parody Madonna's "Like a Virgin," but the lyrics relocate the romantic scenario to an incompetent hospital surgeon's point of view.

• The video was filmed at a closed hospital that had been converted into a production set for hospital scenes.

• The lion seen near the beginning was real. Its presence reportedly made some of the actors uneasy while it was being led through the set.

• The visual language extends beyond "Like a Virgin." The ending borrows dance moves and scene changes associated with Madonna's "Burning Up," followed by a routine referencing "Lucky Star."

• The hospital's overhead announcement uses the Three Stooges' familiar "Paging Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard" gag.

• The video was made as part of the 1985 long-form music-video project "The Compleat Al," which also included Yankovic videos for "Dare to Be Stupid" and "One More Minute."

• The single became one of Yankovic's biggest chart successes, reaching No. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1985.

• Madonna later said she was fine with the parody. The songwriters were Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who wrote the original "Like a Virgin."