Magnificent! One of the greatest romantic comedies that came from the ’80s, “Moonstruck” has everything you want from a romantic comedy…great music, great location, great story and magnificent performances. Cher and Olympia Dukakis were absolutely wonderful in this film!
© 2010 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Moonstruck (as part of the “Cher: The Film Collection)
YEAR OF FILM RELEASE: 1987
DURATION: 102 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Color, Widescreen (1:85:1), Audio: English Mono, Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
COMPANY: MGM/20th Century Fox
RATED: PG
RELEASE DATE: November 2, 2010
Directed by Norman Jewison
Written by John Patrick Shanley
Producer by Norman Jewison and Patrick J. Palmer
Associate Producer: Bonnie Palef
Music by Dick Hyman
Cinematography by David Watkin
Edited by Lou Lombardo
Casting by Howard Feuer
Production Design by Philip Rosenberg
Art Direction by Dan Davis, Barbra Matis
Costume Design by Theoni V. Aldredge
Starring:
Cher as Loretta Castorini
Nicolas Cage as Ronny Cammareri
Vincent Gardenia as Cosmo Castorini
Olympia Dukakis as Rose Castorini
Danny Aiello as Mr. Johnny Cammareri
Juli Bovasso as Rita Cappomaggi
John Mahoney as Perry
Louis Guss as Raymond Cappomaggi
Anita Gillette as Mona
Leonardo Cimino as Felix
Paula Trueman as Lucy
Nada Despotovich as Chrissy
With an all-star cast including Cher in her Oscar-Winning role, this hilarious romantic comedy tells the tale of a superstitious widow (Cher) with unexpectedly falls in love with her fiance’s estranged brother (Nicolas Cage).
Hilarious and enjoyable, “Moonstruck” is a fantastic romantic comedy featuring spectacular performances by Cher, Olympia Dukakis and Vincent Gardenia. Great screenplay, wonderful direction, just an exciting romantic comedy that is absolutely timeless!
In 1987, “Moonstruck”, directed by Norman Jewison (“Agnes of God”, “Rollerball”, “Fiddler on the Roof”) and a screenplay by John Patrick Shanley (“Joe Versus the Volcano”, “Congo”, “Doubt”) was released theatrically and became the fifth highest grossing film of that year with over $80 million made in the US box office and a film that would be nominated for six Oscars and taking home three for “Best Original Screenplay”, “Best Actress” (Cher) and “Best Supporting Actress” (Olympia Dukakis). And now this wonderful romantic comedy receives a re-release as part of “Cher: The Film Collection” (note: The version included in this release is the Deluxe Edition).
There was no doubt that 1987 was a busy year for Cher who starred in three films that year alone with “Suspect” and “The Witches of Eastwick”. Since her return to feature films with “Silkwood” in 1983 (which she was nominated for an Oscar for “Best Supporting Actress”), she followed up with a wonderful performance in “Mask” in 1985 which earned her a Cannes Film Festival Award for “Best Actress”. But it is her role in “Moonstruck” that literally made Cher one of the most popular and most wanted actresses on the planet.
“Moonstruck” revolves around the character Loretta Castorini (played by Cher), a 37-year-old woman who is an accountant and also a widower. She is dating Johnny Cammareri (played by Danny Aiello, “Do the Right Thing”, “Leon the Professional”, “Harlem Nights”), a man she doesn’t really love. But considering she has not found love since the death of her last husband, when Johnny proposes to her, she says, “yes”.
But with Johnny’s mother dying and the fact that he didn’t have an engagement ring (had to use his own pinky ring), he tells her that once he gets back from visiting his mother in Italy, who is living her final days, he will return back and the two will plan for their wedding. But before he leaves, he has one request for Loretta, to please visit his estranged brother Ronny (played by Nicolas Cage, “Raising Arizona”, “Peggy Sue Got Married”, “National Treasure”) and tell him that his older brother is getting married and would like for him to attend.
Meanwhile, Loretta’s father Cosmo (played by Vincent Gardenia, “Little Shop of Horrors”, “Death Wish”) is not so supportive of his daughters remarriage, especially since she wants him to pay for her wedding. As for her mother, Rose (played by Olympia Dukakis, “Steel Magnolias”, “Look Who’s Talking”, “Charlie’s War”), she’s just more concerned that she marries a man that she doesn’t love.
When Loretta tries to call Ronny to let him know about her wedding with his older brother, he screams at her and hangs up the phone. Because she knows his appearance at the wedding is so important for Johnny, she goes to the bakery where Ronny works and tells him the news to his face. Immediately, we learn from Ronny why he hates his brother so much.
Apparently when he was about to get married, his brother preoccupied him during a conversation and Ronny put his hand through a meat slicer and lost his hand. He also lost his fiance who ran out on him with another man and blames Johnny for everything. So, he is disgusted that Johnny has a girl while he not only lost his, he also lost his hand.
Loretta tries to calm Ronny’s anger by inviting him to her home in which she cooks him a steak. While the two are talking, he gets angry at her again about marrying his brother and next thing you know, he starts kissing Loretta and the next thing you know, the two go to her bed where they make love.
Loretta knows that she has done the wrong thing and tries to push Ronny away but he tells her that he has fallen in love with her. But she tells him that they can’t because she is marrying his brother. Ronny can’t resist Loretta but he will do so if she accompanies him to the opera. So, she agrees.
Loretta doesn’t know too much about the opera but she wants to look nice with her final outing with Ronny. Getting her hair died and getting a makeover, the two go to the opera and even though she finds herself caring for Ronny and Ronny continuing to tell her how much he loves her. She tells him that she can’t because she’s marrying Johnny. But can she marry a man that she doesn’t even love? Will she end up staying by her promise to marry Johnny or will she follow her heart and marry Ronny?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Moonstruck” is presented in Widescreen (1:85:1) and in English mono. PQ was fine for a DVD release. The film does looks good on DVD but has that look of digital noise reduction implemented. But again, it’s fine for DVD. If anything, this is one film that should receive a Blu-ray release and is deserving of HD treatment.
Subtitles are in English, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Moonstruck” comes with the following special features:
- Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Cher, director Norman Jewison and writer John Patrick Shanley.
- Moonstruck: At the Heart of an Italian Family – (25:29) Director Norman Jewison and writer John Patrick Shanley talks about making “Moonstruck” a film that showcases Italian family. Also, featuring interviews with Italian families and more.
- Pastas to Pastries: The Art of Fine Italian Food – (1:41) Mark DeCarlo takes us around Little Italy in NYC. After DeCarlo’s introduction we get six establishments featured in their own separate featurettes:
– Grotta Azzurra – (18:47) Mark visits the restaurant and we learn how to make three easy dishes courtesy of the chef.
– Italian Food Center – (2:32) Mark visits the Italian Food Center and takes a look at things we can find inside the store.
– Ferrara Pastries – (2:29) Mark visits the famous Ferrara Pastries.
– Piemonte Ravioli Co. – (2:29) Mark visits the Piemonte Ravioli Co. and how they supply fresh pasta to many of the restaurants in Little Italy.
– Gelato Stand – (1:03) Mark visits a gelato stand in Little Italy. Gelato is Italian ice cream.
– Florio’s Restaurant – (1:25) Mark visits the popular stone oven pizza restaurant.
- Music of Moonstruck – (6:25) A special feature with composer Dick Hyman who talks about the music of the film and how the music was tested with an audience and changes were made to the film. But how Dean Martin’s “Amore” was a perfect for the film.
Back in 1987, there was no doubt that “Moonstruck” was a magical film. Before films such as “When Harry Met Sally”, “Sleepless in Seattle”, “My Greek Wedding” and “Pretty Woman”, the film had everything that you love in a romantic comedy. Drama, humor and just solid performances from everyone involved.
When I first watched this film, I was literally laughing for many of the comedic sequences throughout the film. From Nicolas Cage’s character screaming about how he lost his hand. It’s such a tragic situation but the way it was done onscreen, it was crazy. There were just so many scenes that were just way out of left field that I never saw coming and that’s what added to the allure of the film. You can tell that everyone involved had a blast and everything just came out quite well in the end. The screenplay and the film’s pacing was well-done, direction was also well-done and as mentioned, the performances were wonderful, especially for Cher and Olympia Dukakis. These two women did a magnificent job and their Oscars were well-deserved.
Coming back to this film nearly over 20-years later, the film still manages to still maintain its laughs and the film doesn’t look incredibly aged. If anything, as much as I loved this DVD release when the original deluxe version came out back in 2006, I felt at the time that the release was well-deserved and that there should have been many special features included. Because this film was literally re-released several times on DVD. From its original release back in 1998, followed by a VHS re-release in 2001 and then once again via deluxe edition in 2006 and then an ’80s re-release in 2007 and here we are now with the inclusion of the DVD (deluxe edition) in Cher’s “Cher: The Film Collection” from MGM and 20th Century Fox.
As far as the DVD is concerned, this is a wonderful romantic comedy and definitely a Cher film that belongs with this DVD collection. She has done many wonderful films but “Moonstruck” is her greatest performance thus far. Personally, there is nothing negative I can say about this film because I absolutely loved it. The only thing that I can hope for now is a Blu-ray release featuring a digital restoration of the film since the 25th anniversary of “Moonstruck” is coming up soon.
Overall, a highly recommended romantic comedy!
