Barnes & Noble

The 1987 hit Moonstruck, a modest romantic comedy that proved an unlikely Oscar powerhouse, has weathered the passage of time far better than most '80s films. The virtuoso performances certainly figure in the picture's enduring appeal: Top-billed Cher and supporting player Olympia Dukakis both walked off with Oscars, while up-and-comer Nicolas Cage and character actor Danny Aiello also delivered hilarious turns. Cher truly shines as Loretta Castorini, a dour, superstitious, but attractive widow who accepts a marriage proposal from decent but unprepossessing Johnny Cammareri (Aiello). Resigned to a financially secure but passionless union, Loretta initially dismisses the immature advances of Johnny's tempestuous younger brother, Ronny (Cage), but eventually comes to love him. Loretta's feisty, plainspoken mother (Dukakis) has plenty to say about her daughter's choices, and interference from her could throw the situation into chaos. Director Norman Jewison, working from an unusually trenchant script by John Patrick Shanley -- who also won an Oscar -- skillfully realizes the writer's richly detailed, often subtle vignettes about working-class Italian-American families in New York City. The Loretta-Ronny romance evolves along decidedly unconventional lines, and the brothers' rivalry is resolved touchingly, without resorting to crude comedic gimmicks or cheap melodramatic hokum. Sharply written, incisively directed, and beautifully acted, Moonstruck has earned its place among the screen's classic comedies. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

When there's a full moon over Brooklyn, anything can happen, and everything happens in the neighborhood where widowed bookkeeper Loretta Castorini (Cher) lives. First, Loretta agrees to marry a man she does not love, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), simply because he knows how to propose properly. Before the wedding can take place, Cammareri must visit his dying mother in Sicily. In his absence, Loretta is supposed to try to patch up the differences between Johnny and his brother, bakery operator Ronny Cammareri (Nicolas Cage). Having never forgiven Johnny for indirectly causing the accident that crippled him, Ronny flies into a rage whenever his brother's name is mentioned. He does, however, fall for Loretta like a ton of bricks. After a torrid affair, Loretta tries to avoid Ronny out of respect to Johnny, but he's just too fascinating to resist. Meanwhile, Loretta's father (Vincent Gardenia) is fooling around with his mistress Mona (Anita Gillette), while Loretta's mother (Olympia Dukakis) is wooed by a college professor (John Mahoney). These brief flings are forgiven and forgotten, but there's still the delicate situation of Loretta being in love with her future brother-in-law. A now-classic romantic comedy, Moonstruck won Oscars for Cher, Olympia Dukakis, and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 027616143129
• Source: MGM (VIDEO & DVD)
• Region Code: 1
• Time: 1:42:00
• Sales Rank: 383

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Moonstruck/My Cousin Vinny
• Nicolas Cage Star Collection

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