The romantic comedy Moonstruck is directed by Norman Jewison and stars Cher and Nicolas Cage. The film takes place in modern day Brooklyn.
The film starts off with Loretta Castoroni (Cher) in a restaurant with Johnny Cammareri (Aiello). Johnny proposes to Loretta and after a bunch of little jokes she agrees to it. Loretta was married once before but her husband was killed by a bus. She claims that she had bad luck because they did not have a proper marriage and she wants it to be so that this time everything goes just right. Loretta lives with her mother and father, as well as her grandfather. She also sees her aunt and uncle very often because they as well live in Brooklyn. Johnny goes to Sicily to be with her on her deathbed and gives Loretta the task of contacting his brother, Ronny (Cage), and inviting him to the wedding. The two brothers have not spoken to each other for five years so Loretta has to patch up their relationship. Well when she goes to see him she doesn't do anything to help patch that relationship up...
The screenplay for this film was very good from John Patrick Shanley and he won an Oscar for it. Loretta was a very real character which is always great because an audience can't relate to a main character that seems fake. He did a great job of creating a family vibe and getting a lot of very smart and funny dialogue in the script. Ronny Cammareri was an over the top character yet in a way he added much to the plot because Loretta was so real and down to Earth. Overall a very well written script and a classic romantic comedy.
The direction of the film was fine as well. Jewison had many memorable shots throughout the film, such as when Loretta went to confession how only the priest's hands were shown of his and nothing else. Also, I liked how the framing of the shot of Loretta and Ronny looking at the moon, it just had a classic feel to it. Jewison did an excellent job working with his actors since two of them received Oscars the one was nominated. He as well deserved the Oscar nomination that he received.
The acting in the film was also very good. Cher gave an excellent performance as Loretta and it is very memorable. She is definitely one of the most talented entertainers out there to be such a great singer and a great actress. What was great about her performance I thought was her eye movement. It was just brilliant the way she looked at the other actors. Nicolas Cage was a little over the top but he needed to be because his character was. His performance does not really show any range, but his career is still young and as it grows he proves that he is as well a great actor. Vincent Gardenia and Olympia Dukakis gave marvelous performances as well as Loretta's mother and father. Gardenia was a very over the top kind of man that was kind of a stock character of a Brooklyn father but he did a fine job as the role. Dukakis was basically an older version of Loretta and played the part as well as Cher. A finely acted film.
Overall I give this film a very strong 7/10 because romantic comedies aren't really my favorite genre, but this is one of the best ones out there. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of romantic comedies.
