Product: Moonstruck (1987)
Rating: 5.0
That's Amore!
Moonstruck tells the story of Loretta Castorini (Cher) and her entanglement with the brother of her fiancé, Ronny Cammareri (Nicolos Cage). The movie is set in a heavily Italian family and neighborhood. The main story follows Loretta as she struggles with her attraction to Ronny while trying to remain faithful to her fiancé. There is also a sub-plot regarding her parents and marital infidelity. While this may sound kind of raunchy on the surface, the tone is very tongue-in-cheek and it's generally more of a good natured romp than it is hard core salacious.This movie is one of those rare instances where every individual aspect comes together to form something special. Let's start with the music. Most often, you barely notice a movie's soundtrack but from the moment Dean Martin's "That's Amore" begins, the music sets the perfect tone for this romantic comedy with a distinctive Italian American flavor. Next up, we have the cast. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of either Cher or Nicolas Cage but they are both excellent here. And the supporting cast with the likes of Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia, and Olympia Dukakis all seem as though they were born to play their respective parts. The script features razor sharp banter between the characters and many great character moments to make us care what happens. Put all of these pieces together with a story that is silly, yet works perfectly, and you have a terrific movie.In short, Moonstruck is one of the funniest romantic comedies you can hope to see and it has a great heart. I would recommend it to one and all.