MOONSTRUCK
DVD
1987 - USA

Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, Julie Bovasso, John Mahoney, Louis Guss

- Reviewed by Kerri

MoonstruckNorman Jewison was fined by the actor's union for not letting the actors go to lunch until they perfected the climax scene in the kitchen. On the director's commentary on the DVD, Jewison tells the tale of Nicholas Cage getting so angry he threw a chair across the kitchen in a rage (you'll notice Aunt Rita standing while the others are sitting).

Whatever it took to get through that scene worked because nothing wraps up a movie so nicely as this simple family breakfast in Moonstruck. Here we see the culmination of the characters' personalities: the distressed daughter, the love-struck handless baker, the sheepish father, the confused grandfather and the mother who keeps them all together.

Moonstruck combines one of my favorite writers, John Patrick Shanley (Joe Versus the Volcano, Alive) with one of the best directors of all time, Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof, Jesus Christ Superstar). This charming story of a woman who's engaged to one man but falls in love with his brother gives us a sweet look at Brooklyn-Italian life. Cher is wonderful in her role as Loretta, a widow who's given up on love. Nicholas Cage plays the tormented baker-sans-fingers who finds life once he meets Loretta. And all around them is a cacophony of colorful characters who round out the tale.

The best part of this movie is the dialogue. There are so many choice lines! I have met others to whom I can quote a line like, "Get the big knife!" and they not only know exactly to which movie I'm referring, but can counter with favorite lines of their own. Moonstruck is one of the best examples of dialogue making a movie. That, coupled with the humor of the screenplay, makes Moonstruck one of my favorite movies ever.

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