Moonstruck

Plot synopsis:
Thirty-seven-year-old Loretta Castorini (Cher), an Italian-American widow, is a bookkeeper in Brooklyn Heights, New York, where she lives with her family: her father Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia) a successful plumber; her mother Rose (Olympia Dukakis); and her paternal grandfather (Feodor Chaliapin, Jr). Her boyfriend Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello) proposes to her before leaving for Sicily to be with his dying mother; she accepts, but is insistent that they carefully follow tradition as she believes her first marriage was cursed by her failure to do so, resulting in her husband's death. Johnny asks Loretta to invite his estranged younger brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) to the wedding. Loretta returns home and informs her parents of the engagement. Cosmo dislikes Johnny and is reluctant to commit to paying for the "real" wedding Loretta insists on, while Rose is pleased that Loretta likes Johnny but does not love him; she believes that one can easily be driven crazy by a partner whom one loves.
The next day, Loretta goes to see Ronny at his bakery. He reveals that he has a wooden prosthetic hand, and he explains that he blames Johnny for the loss of his hand and his own fiancée; Ronny became distracted while talking to Johnny as he cut bread for him, his hand was mangled in the slicer, and his fiancée left him. Loretta insists that they discuss the matter upstairs in his apartment, where she cooks for him and then tells him that she believes he is a "wolf" who cut off his own hand to escape the trap of a bad relationship. Ronny reacts furiously and passionately, kissing Loretta (who responds to his kiss) and then carrying her to his bed where they make love. At the same time, Cosmo is dining with his mistress Mona (Anita Gillette) and giving her jewelry.
That evening, Rose's brother Raymond (Louis Guss) and his wife Rita (Julie Bovasso) join Rose and Cosmo for dinner, and they all wonder where Loretta is. Raymond recalls that when he was a boy and Cosmo was courting Rose, he thought that a particularly bright moon one night was somehow brought to the house by Cosmo because of his love for Rose. That night, Loretta remains at Ronny's apartment and sees such a moon; Raymond sees it as well, and it leads him and Rita to make love. The next morning, Loretta tells Ronny they can never see each other again. She slaps him when he claims to be in love with her ("Snap out of it!") and he agrees to never see her again if she will attend the opera (his other great love) with him that night. She agrees. She then goes to church and confesses her infidelity. She unexpectedly sees her mother there, and Rose tells her that Cosmo is having an affair; Loretta is doubtful. Loretta then goes to Raymond and Rita's store to close out the cash register, after which she impulsively goes to the hair salon and buys a glamorous evening gown.
Loretta and Ronny (wearing a tuxedo) meet at Lincoln Center, and each is impressed with the other's appearance. Loretta is deeply moved by her first opera, Puccini's La bohème. But as they leave, Loretta sees Cosmo and Mona, and she confronts her father. He sees that she is with Ronny, and he suggests that they simply agree that they didn't see each other at all, but Loretta is conflicted. Loretta then intends to return home alone, but Ronny leads her back to his apartment where he passionately and desperately persuades her into another tryst. The same night, Rose dines alone at a restaurant and sees a college professor, Perry (John Mahoney), being dramatically dumped by a female student, a similar scene having played out with a different girl the night Johnny proposed to Loretta. Rose invites Perry to dine with her, asks him why men pursue women, and then shares with him her belief that men pursue women because they fear death. Perry walks Rose home and tries to convince her to invite him in; she refuses "because I'm married. Because I know who I am." Later, Johnny unexpectedly returns from Sicily after his mother's "miraculous" recovery and goes to Loretta's house; Rose explains that she's not there and then asks him why men chase women. He tells her it may be because they fear death, with which Rose agrees. After this exchange he leaves, planning to return in the morning to see Loretta.
In the morning, Loretta returns home in a reverie but is then distressed to learn from Rose that Johnny will be there soon. Ronny then arrives, and Rose notes their matching "love bites" and invites him for breakfast over Loretta's objections. Cosmo and his father emerge from upstairs, and the older man cajoles Cosmo into agreeing to pay for Loretta's wedding. Rose then confronts Cosmo and, after he acknowledges in response to her questioning that she has been a good wife, demands that he end his affair; he is upset but agrees and, after insistence from Rose, also agrees to go to confession, and they then affirm their love for each other. Raymond and Rita also arrive, concerned and seemingly reluctantly suspicious, to find out why Loretta didn't make the previous day's bank deposit; they are relieved to learn that she merely forgot and still has the money. When Johnny finally arrives, he breaks off the engagement, superstitiously believing that their marriage would cause his mother's death. Loretta, momentarily offended by his breaking the engagement, chastises Johnny for breaking his promise and throws the engagement ring at him. Seizing the moment, Ronny borrows the ring and asks Loretta to marry him; she accepts. To Rose's chagrin, Loretta declares that she loves Ronny. The family toasts the couple with champagne and a befuddled Johnny joins in at the grandfather's urging, as he will now be part of the family after all.

Tags: romantic, humor, entertaining, boring

Review:
Besides movies based on Agatha Christie novels, it is rare that a story ends with bringing the entire cast together more satisfyingly than "Moonstruck." The morning-after-the-opera scene in Rose Castorini's  sunny kitchen with all the characters present is one that I can watch again and again.
"You've got a love-bite on yer neck - your life's goin down the toilet!" "I want you to stop seeing her"  "Who are we waiting for?"  "Johnny Cammarari" "You're a part of the family!"No matter what sort of table you grew up around, rent or buy this movie.
Cage is pretty good, and goofy as well, and Olympia Dukakis as Loretta's mother and Vincent Gardenia as her father are terrific.
Wonderful romance comedy drama about an Italian widow (Cher) who's planning to marry a man she's comfortable with (Danny Aiello) until she falls for his headstrong, angry brother (Nicholas Cage).
It's a "feel good" movie where you leave the theatre humming "that's amore" or repeating some of your favorite lines: "old man, if you give those dogs another piece of my food, I'll kick you till you're dead"; "Chrissy, bring me the big knife", "who's dead", "do you love him Loretta....., good because when you do, they drive you crazy because they know they can".
When the above line is uttered by a tearful, elderly character at the end of this wonderful, funny, charming romantic comedy, I laughed so hard, my ribs hurt.
The film is a heart warming look at a quirky Italian-American family in Brooklyn that happens to be going through some relationship issues.
Cher, Olympia Dukakis (both Oscar winners), Vincent Gardenia and Danny Aiello have rarely, if ever, been better and the tuneful and romantic score is an added treat.
Even the music -- from Dean Martin to La Boheme -- is captivating and delightful!Every character is peculiarly delightful and memorable, from the leads played by Cher and Nicolas Cage, to the many supporting roles -- Olympia Dukakis , Vincent Gardenia, John Mahoney, Danny Aiello -- even grandpa with his dog pack!
There are so many stunning and memorable scenes the original meeting between the Cher and Nicolas Cage characters, where Cage tells his tale of woe; Vincent Gardenia discovered with his paramour at the opera, amidst the splendor generated by his gold-mine plumbing business; Olympia Dukakis scolding John Mahoney for philandering with his student in the classic line about liaisons with co-workers: "Don't sh-t where you eat!"; Danny Aiello at his dying mother's bedside; Nicolas Cage "taking" Cher as the rapture of an aria soars in the background!
I can't pick a favorite line, but the scene when Loretta first confronts Ronnie in the bakery is powerful, moving, and Nicolas Cage at his very best "I ain't no monument to justice!...".
We are here to ruin ourselves and love the wrong people..." Permission to be passionate and flawed.Trivia-Did you know that the second slap Loretta gives Ronnie when she tells him to "snap out of it!" was impromptu, and that they both cracked up after that and filmed the rest of that scene struggling not to burst out laughing?.
Now I watch it and go - oh yeah, I get it!Cher is playing Loretta, a 37 year old widow of 7 years who married late for her culture - age 28 - holding out for love only to have her husband get run over by a bus.
Then Johnny has to leave town and tells Loretta that he wants her to help him make things right between himself and his brother (Nicholas Cage) who have not spoken for years.
A misunderstanding causes Loretta's extended family to think that she embezzled some money, and a professor in a restaurant who is always getting slapped and left by young girls throws some romantic attention the way of Dukakis' character.
This sounds like it could be serious, but it is just a sweet romantic comedy and at the same time a family comedy very much steeped in the culture of Italian Americans who never left New York after migrating here and thus retain much of the history of their original homeland in their daily life.
Just like everyone is Irish when St. Patty's Day rolls around, everybody's Italian when it comes to watching this pleasant charmer, no matter if it's written by an Irish American, directed by a Canadian Jew, and stars the world's most famous Armenian-Native American.Loretta Castorini Clark (Cher) is not a lucky woman, it seems.
Just as she readies herself for a loveless marriage with the sweet-but-simple Johnny Cammarini (Danny Aiello), love strikes in the form of Johnny's bitter brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage).
Can Loretta do the right thing, even if she doesn't quite know what that is?"Moonstruck" is a comedy that works in serious themes, like death, infidelity, faith, and hopelessness.
Writer John Patrick Shanley operates with a deft hand and an ear for how people say what they really mean even when they try to say something else, like when Loretta's cheating father Cosmo (Vincent Gardinia, along with Cage one of the authentic Italian-American cast members) warns her against marriage because, well, he's cheap and doesn't want to pay for it.Seeing her ring from Johnny is just a pinky ring (Johnny wasn't prepared when he popped the question), Pop complains when she tells him it's temporary: "Everything is temporary!
"I ain't no freakin' monument to justice," he exclaims.Cage's best work in the movie comes at the end, when he's not talking so much as listening in the background while the other characters have their big confessional moments at the breakfast table.
That concluding scene is a showcase of fine comic acting and writing, which director Norman Jewison (another guy who liked to go big in other productions) plays very lightly and well, working the silences as much as the speeches to wry effect.Even the secondary performers, like Feodor Chaliapin as Cosmo's confused father, and Julie Bovasso and Louis Guss as Loretta's aunt and uncle, make their marks.
Olympia Dukakis, the other Oscar-winner in the cast, has a great scene with Aiello which justifies his character's somewhat superfluous presence.To be in love is to die a little, but dying seems like a small price to pay for the pleasure of love.
Nicholas Cage, Danny Aiello, and Olympia Dukakis, were wonderfully flawed in "Moonstruck" Such performances by these three were perfectly appropriate for the kinetic energy of the characters in this movie!
Most of these were about gangsters (even when they were comedies, as in the 1985 movie Prizzi's Honor), but as Moonstruck shows, there were plenty of other stereotypes to be exploited without resorting to gun-toting Mafiosi.Moonstruck features numerous tropes of Italian culture – vendettas, elderly matriarchs, romantic opera etc., etc., etc Often these are in a satirical light, such as Nicholas Cage's absolutely pathetic excuse for "bad blood".
The movie is really a mess of clichés and crisscrossing romantic subplots, with occasional musings on the nature of love and fidelity, none of which seems quite as intelligent or cohesive as it seems to thinks it is.Cher carries the movie's Italian American cliché through to her performance, which is full of extravagant gesture.
The Original Screenplay, by John Patrick Shanley, which won an Oscar, is note-worthy.'Moonstruck' tells the story of a unlucky widow, played superbly by Cher, who finds herself stuck between her would-be husband and his angry, yet lovable, brother, played by Oscar-Winning Actor, Nic Cage.The film begins well, and though the writing does dip after a certain point, the culmination comes out as uncomplicated & memorable.
As soon as Dean Martin's "That's Amore" played over the opening credits, this enchanting film had me in rom-com heaven.One night the passions of various members of an Italian-American family in Brooklyn come alive as a huge full-moon casts its spell over them.
To this day, Moonstruck is still one of my favorite movies, and congrats to Cher for her wonderful leading role and for the director to use Dean Martin's That's Amore as well as Vikki's # 1 AC hit It Must be Him!.
All of these films focus on a single character, but the complete cast makes it work.Right down to the "Old Man" - the aging Italian grandfather, warned by his daughter-in-law to stop feeding table food to his dogs "or I'll kick you til you die."Moonstruck follows an Italian American family in New York and how they discover, realize and run from true love.
Its best feature is its wonderful mood, perfectly capturing the Italian core family - hostile and critical, but always loving and caring and ready to defend eachother.Cher won a well-deserved Oscar here for delicately playing a stereotype without becoming a caricacture.
In the movies best line, Cher's mother (Olympia Dukakis) asks "Do you love him", and when Cher answers no, mom says "Good.
If you haven't seen it or are not sure if you want to, because you don't like Cher, or you think eighties movies are all bad (ok, it was the worst film decade, but so what?
Despite being frail and old, he is shown to still be very wise and authoritative, condemning Cosmo for breaking the family and demanding that Cosmo pay for Loretta's wedding.All these personalities come together and make a very ordinary story interesting and funny.All in all, I offer one piece of advice: See this movie.
The romantic comedy Moonstruck is directed by Norman Jewison and stars Cher and Nicolas Cage.
But, perhaps the best character is the one played by Olympia Dukakis.The film's climax is a scene where the main characters have it out over a breakfast of oatmeal in the family kitchen.
Nicholas Cage was the beginning of his career, and Vincent Gardenia and Danny Aiello were not known for their comedic talents, nor was Norman Jewison the director.The only really flat note in this splendid work is "When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie, That's Amore," a song that is sung too many times in the movie (once is already too many) and that went on to have a long afterlife in popular music.
Meanwhile, her father (Vincent Gardenia) is cheating on her mother (Olympia Dukakis), which Loretta accidentally discovers when Ronny invites her to the Metropolitan Opera.Everything works out in the end, as it inevitably does in films of this genre.
Cher is such a comedy natural, Vincent Gardenia (who I know mostly through his Frank Lorenzo role on All in the Family until I saw him in this and then off-Broadway in the 80's)deserved far greater stardom than he ever got, and Aiello's hapless loser are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to giving kudos to this tremendous cast.
(Let's face it...in real life not exactly a sure thing!) The last scene, with the entire family waiting for Johnny Camarari to arrive, is priceless ("Someone tell a joke...") ("Tell them the truth, Loretta, they find out anyway.") And I believe, with Ronnie, that "We are here to break our hearts, and to love the wrong people.".
I am simply enamored with this romantic comedy set in a borough of New York City within an Italian-American extended family.
Cher is believable and lovable as Loretta, a tough-and-tender widow of 37, who becomes engaged to sappy, "mama's boy" Johnny, played by Danny Aielo, whom she likes, but doesn't really love.
The plot is great and simple to follow, the acting is good from Cher (gasp here) and Nic Cage is on top form as the slightly weird brother of Danny Aiello (also great, very funny)with the wooden hand!
I know this review is short, however all I have to say is get your girlfriend/boyfriend to sit down on the warm snug sofa one moon lit night and sit and watch this delightful romantic comedy, probably one of the best of all time.
I insist I'm not a Nicholas Cage fan, even though he appears in two of my very favorite films: "Raising Arizona," and "Moonstruck." His real talent must be knowing how to pick scripts.
Though Cher and Cage are the focal points of this story, Gardenia and Dukakis are good counterparts for them- this is where Loretta and Ronny will be in 50 years- still in love.
Twelve years later and Norman Jewison's charming tale of love and family in the Big Apple is as good as ever.
But after he flies to Sicily to be at the bedside of his dying mother, she falls for Johnny's estranged younger brother, Ronny (Nicolas Cage).Aside from a great cast, fine photography and a delightful soundtrack, the movie also boasts some of the best dialogue of the Eighties, such as Cage's one-handed baker, desperately trying to make Cher's character fall for him.
We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and die."Well, quite.On the surface it may look like a star vehicle for Cher but you don't need to be a fan to warm to its charms.
Needless to say, the movie proved an instant smash hit and also worked its charms on the American Film Academy.Moonstruck landed Cher a Best Actress Oscar, garnered screenwriter John Patrick Shanley a gong for Best Screenplay and turned Nicolas Cage into one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors.If star spotting is your favoured pastime, then look down the cast list and you'll see Frasier's John Mahoney, Julie Bovasso (John Travolta's mum in Saturday Night Fever) and in an Oscar-winning role, Tales of the City's Olympia Dukakis.
Cher gives a brilliant performance, while the role of Ronnie suits Nicolas Cage better than any other character he has played.
Moonstruck is a crazy comedy, a beautiful love story, and a realistic portrayal of an Italian-American family..
It's still not one of those "fun for the whole family movies" as affairs and other sexual escapades are going on, but overall I thought it was a pretty nice story.Now, I did question the loyalty when a woman (Cher), the first time she meets her finance's brother (Nicolas Cage), goes to bed with him!
While gone Cher falls in love with his younger, one-handed brother (Nicolas Cage).
The cinematography was well done and captures a sense of romance.The Rest: a thin plotline, Nicholas Cage's performance, and a totally unhumorous and weak attempt to portray an Italian-American family from New York.
Cher stars in this smart and clever comedy about a widow who is engaged to a man in Little Italy New York but falls in love with his little brother..Cher is at her best as the widow and Aiello and Dukakis make a memorable set of parents.Cage is also perfect as the tormented baker..
I'm finally checking off some of the classic movies I've never seen!..not a big Nicholas Cage fan, but Cher is great and I love the stereotypical Italian family!.
I've always loved Cher so the combination of both of these fine actors within a well written story, and expertly directed film is simply gold.
A low-key and charming family comedy about a spinsterish widow (Cher), who is torn between marrying her stuffy fiancé (Danny Aiello) and his animalistic brother (Nicolas Cage).
But she gets terrific support from Vincent Gardenia and Olympia Dukakis, playing her philandering father and world-weary mother, and from a very funny Nicolas Cage, who proves that he once had both charm and talent.The film makes terrific use of "Musetta's Waltz" from "La Boheme".Grade: A.
While not a lot happens in "Moonstruck", the film manages to win you over with good performances from Cher, Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia and Olympia Dukakis.Writer John Patrick Shanley has included some very funny situations in his simple screenplay.
The centerpiece is Cher's character, a Brooklyn bookkeeper, who decides to marry a man but ends up falling for the brother (Nicolas Cage).
Throughout this triangle, Loretta's parents also have problems with their marriage,but in the end, everyone shares wine as the movie comes to a close on a great, Italian moment.I give Moonstruck ****1/2 stars out of *****..
However, she is well supported by strong performances by Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, and Olypia Dukakis (in her best supporting-actress winning role) and of course, great directing by Norman Jewison.
An affectionate look at the live and loves of New York City's Italian community, "Moonstruck" is a low key film in spite of slightly over-the-top performances from almost all its cast.
the casting is perfect down to every last role - especially olympia dukakis and the great julie bovasso, who is such a wonderful new york character actress (i.e. john travolta's mother in Saturday night fever).
Set against an iridescent Manhattan skyline, it follows the romantic misadventures of a sensible 38-year old widow (Cher) engaged to marry a man she calls a lamb while falling in love with her fiancé's wolfish younger brother (a miscast Nicholas Cage).
At the front line are Loretta Castorini (Cher), her fiancée's brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) and her mother (Olympia Dukakis) and father (Vincent Gardenia).
And, of course, the right people end up with the right people, but it's not as obligatory as it sounds.The cast is wonderful, especially Cher (in her Oscar winning role) who surprised me with her greatness, the funny and poetic Cage, Dukakis is awesome as the wise mother (she also won) and last but not least Gardenia, a perfect Italian father, who took a potentially        character and made him lovable.
Loretta (played by Cher) is a middle-aged widow, who has given up on love and decides to marry Johnny, a man that she likes, and takes care of.
And Cher is so funny as the woman who is engaged to "big baby" Danny Aiello, but falls in love with Nicolas Cage.
But along with Cher this film belongs to Vincent Gardenia and Olympia Dukakis.
One of my favorite romantic comedies ever, I was surprised to see how well Cher acted in this movie.
Olympia Dukakis was hilarious as Cher's mother, and her line about kicking the old man til he's dead makes me laugh no matter how many times I see that scene.