Review of Moonstruck (1987) by Jose M — 14 Feb 2015

It's no surprise seeing a romance-comedy film that will either really smart and funny or bad or a Katherine Heigil film. Quintessentially, you have a woman down on her luck or one with a terrible boyfriend, but will soon fall for another man.

Obstacle and challenges will come, but soon it becomes a happy ending. I pretty much saw familiar elements in Moonstruck although Moonstruck is amped with attitude, religion, superstitious, and Italians centering on its star Cher while poignantly questioning love, marriage, and age.

It starts with a bizarre proposal scene in a restaurant with Johnny and Loretta. Johnny is leaving to Italy to visit his mother who is minutes away from death. He instructs before his departure that she must find his estranged brother and invite him to the wedding.

She discovers Ronny played by Nicolas Cage, an angry man with one hand. He blames Johnny for his misfortunes in life. Loretta seeking to make amends pursues him to show up at the wedding and ends up sleeping with him.

Ronny, who is described by her as a wolf, confesses his love to her. It's pretty exuberant from there on. The performances from the cast is refreshing and funny although sometimes sad. The writing is witty as it allows there characters to come to life.

As one scene, Loretta meets a bitter old woman who curses a plane her fiancé is riding. The old lady tells her that she was once in love and then betrayed by her sister. Loretta, a widow, is disturbed by it and constantly talks about the "bad luck" which it doesn't get better when she meets Ronny.

Cage is pretty hilarious especially with the rant scene. This will set up one of my favorite slap scenes of all time. This is a must watch along with Vicky Cristina Barcelona, another excellent romance film.