Moonstruck

This and When Harry met Sally, have got to be some of my fave romantic comedies of all time. 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 can't really explain what it is about this film that makes it so great .... there's just too much. The wonderful atmosphere, the delightful acting, the great comedy on offer, or the great romance!

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.

9 out of 10.

'Moonstruck' is a love story. There is not one romance, there are at least three, but they all have to do with the same family. Loretta's family. Loretta (Cher) is about to marry Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello). She doesn't love him, but he is sweet and good man. When he leaves to visit his dying mother in Italy Loretta meets Johnny's brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage). He and Johnny haven't spoken each other in five years and Loretta wants to invite him to the wedding. Of course they fall instantly for each other.

How this story and love stories of Loretta's parents and uncle and aunt develop is something you simply have to see for yourself. Every seen is a delight to watch, with Cher as the bright star in the middle of everything. She won and really deserved the Oscar that year. Cage is pretty good, and goofy as well, and Olympia Dukakis as Loretta's mother and Vincent Gardenia as her father are terrific. This movie is funny, charming and therefore highly enjoyable.

Deliriously romantic comedy with intertwining subplots that mesh beautifully and actors who bounce lines off each other with precise comic timing, a feat that is beautiful to behold. When Cher's spineless fiancé asks her to help him make peace with his estranged, moody younger brother, no one could dream the consequences which follow. Operatic symbolism, Catholic church confessions, love bites and falling snow..."Moonstruck" is timeless and smooth. It takes about 15 minutes for the picture's rhythm to kick in (there's an early sequence with the grandfather and his dogs at the cemetery that's a little rough, and a following scene with Cosmo and the elderly man at the gate that seems obtuse), but the patchwork of the plot is interwoven with nimble skill, and the movie's wobbly tone and kooky spirit are both infectious. ***1/2 from ****

Maybe we should be committed, but my husband and I have memorized virtually the entire movie. Neither of us has ever been so in love with a film. The reason this movie "struck" us so I think is because it illuminates the human heart at it's romantic best. Not to mention that there is a line in this movie appropriate for almost any of life's experiences. I don't know how we would get through a day without it! I guess we truly are lunatics! Ha. Perhaps in our love relationships, we should see one another in the romantic glow given off by the bella luna. 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!...". Also, when he walks her to his place in the freezing cold and tells her "we're not here to make things perfect. 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?

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). The script is sharp with plenty of great lines, the acting is wonderful, the accents (I've been told) are letter perfect and the cinematography is beautiful. New York has never looked so good on the screen. A must-see primarily for Cher and Olympia Dukakis--they're both fantastic and richly deserved the Oscars they got. A beautiful, funny film. A must see!