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Movie of the Week #23 - Moonstruck
We are starting the month with female leads with Moonstruck from 1987 starring Cher in the leading role as Loretta. A role than won her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Besides any thoughts on this movie, what did you think of Cher's performance in this?
The rest of the schedule for April is:
- 8th: The Silence of the Lambs
- 15th: Run Lola Run
- 22nd: Aliens
- 29th: Fargo
I first watched this when I was 18, the same week (actually maybe even the same day) that I saw City Lights for the first time. I fell in love with it right away and declared it my favorite movie. I've seen it quite a few times since then, and although I no longer consider it one of my favorite movies, it's still such a great movie.
It operates almost like some sort of Italian-American fairy tale. With mythology always playing a role, from the old woman talking about cursing the plane to Cher and Nicolas Cage being destined romantic partners. The cinematography of the film has a dream-like quality to it, it's comfortable and cozy. The music also adds to this. It all feels very Hollywood, almost like a musical (which makes sense considering Jewison directed Fiddler on the Roof and Jesus Christ Superstar). It reminds me of Punch Drunk-Love, where PTA's intended goal was for the movie to feel like a musical without anyone breaking out into song.
With all the theatricality of the film, it still feels human. The characters are complex, they're not caricatures, they feel like lived in people. And I found the central romance between Cher and Nicolas Cage to be genuinely romantic and sweet. They have a lot of chemistry together, which is interesting considering Cage was in his early 20s and Cher was 40 or pushing 40. They're both giving very loud performances and deliver iconic lines shouting "I LOST MY HAND I LOST MY BRIDE" "SNAP OUT OF IT."
It's good stuff man.
I have the usual reservations with this romantic comedy as I often do with these types of movies where I have a hard time believing in the attraction between the characters. Especially at first where they just throw themselves at each other without any prior chemistry. However, I acknowledge that it probably isn't exactly the type of thing it is going for, because how it revolves around its themes of life long love and marriage exemplified with this family, works pretty well. And really, that final breakfast breakfast scene won me over making this worth watching in the end.
As a big Frasier fan it was nice seeing John Mahoney in this as a failed womanizer. As for Cher, I liked how confident and assertive she plays Loretta. She might be very traditional when it comes to marriage, but she is determined to be in charge of the process.