Hechizo de luna

'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.

I don't know what it is about this movie, but there is something about it that just makes me happy! Olympia Dukakis is wonderful, Cher totally deserved her Oscar, and the usage of La Boheme is absolutely beautiful. The scene when that beautiful moon rises above New York never fails to give me chills. What a great movie! Five Stars!

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!

This movie is brilliant in every way. It touches on the complexities of loving relationships in a meaningful way, but never lectures. The script never condescends toward any character, not even the hapless Johnny. It also and benefits from spot-on direction, production design, casting, and performances. The fact that Cher is so perfect in the film and is more unlike "Cher" than she has ever been is a wonder to me. I watch Moonstruck at least once a year and I just viewed it again this Christmas eve with my 16 year old twin daughters and they loved it as well. It has something for everyone with a heart and leaves you filled with joy in the end.