Product: Moonstruck (1987)
Rating: 5.0
Moonstruck Movie Review
Love can be very confusing. And never more so than in Norman Jewison's classic romantic comedy Moonstruck. Starring Cher, in an Academy award-winning role, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello and Olympia Dukakis (also winning an Academy award), Moonstruck assembles an all-star cast for a wondrously entertaining film about unexpected romance, true love and good luck.Loretta Castorini (Cher) has been married once before but, presumably due to bad luck, her husband was hit by a bus. When Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello) proposes to her, she feels that it is her final chance at happiness, even though she doesn't really love him. Johnny makes a trip to Sicily to visit his dying mother, and asks Loretta to invite his estranged brother to their wedding, scheduled one month away. She goes to visit Ronnie Cammareri (Nicolas Cage) who hasn't seen his brother in five years because he blames him for an accident that cost him his hand. Despite Ronnie's tormented, wild and crazy attitude, Loretta falls madly in love with him and must decide what exactly to do about it.The film starts slow but is careful to concentrate on crafty character development. By the time hearts are broken and love-struck characters are confused, we completely understand and care about these people and their disoriented lives. Moonstruck essentially observes the various reasons people become unfaithful, and how true love can always win - especially in a lighthearted romantic comedy like this. By the time the absolutely stunning and hilarious dinner table conclusion unfolds, everyone is thoroughly distraught, nervous and bamboozled by who has cheated on whom and who will end up with whom. But happiness is a counterpart of love and those who are meant to be together cannot be separated for long.The cast is unbelievably spectacular and are most worthy of the nominations, awards and accolades they received. Cher conveys moonstruck blind confusion over Cage, and yet always keeps her wits about her, knowing that the immoral decisions she makes are spontaneous passion hopefully steering in the course of true love. Cage is unexpectedly rambunctious, crazy, and hilarious as the Casanova-with-a-wooden-hand - he too knows the power of whimsical love and is determined in his pursuit of Loretta. Olympia Dukakis is the intelligent, levelheaded mother Rose, Vincent Gardenia is the father fearful of death, and Aiello is the mother's boy, fragile man that frequently creates and solves problems simultaneously.What exactly is love, and does it matter? Is it a double slap in the face or kicking around an empty soda can in the midst of a rainy street? Moonstruck paints it out to be loud, bright, operatic and confusing, but it sure is entertaining. Whimsical and not too serious, this hysterical exercise in finding true love and having good luck is a classic romantic comedy that shouldn't be missed.- Mike Massie