“Moonstruck” stars Cher as Loretta, a thirty-seven-year-old woman who is the daughter of Italian immigrants working their way to make it good in America. She’s engaged to Johnny, a stable businessman who will take good care of her financially, but she’s not in love with him. She’s old enough that she feels love will never come her way again –she’s a widow– and she’s all right with that now, thinking that she’s accepting reality.
When Johnny must travel to Italy to visit his dying mother, he calls Loretta and asks her to go see his brother Ronny. There’s been some bad blood between the brothers, and Johnny wants to be able to assure his mother that it’s all been patched up. Loretta goes to see Ronny (Nicolas Cage) and is surprised to find that he lost a hand working for Johnny. Loretta does the best she can to talk to Ronny – but things don’t go how she planned. He’s a man of great passion and conviction, something she’s not used to, and she’s attracted to him. They end up having an affair, but it’s the start of a relationship, not just a one-night-stand. He tries to convince her to break her engagement, but she’s torn, not knowing what she should do.
This movie is full of great comedy. When Loretta announces that she’s in love with Ronny, but she’s engaged to Johnny, the poor elderly grandfather proclaims, “I’m confused.” The wisdom of the Italians comes through in each scene, as well as their astute way of looking at life. We cheer Loretta on as she finds the reason to go on each day—true love—and we worry that she’ll pass it by because of a misplaced promise.
All in all, this is a movie you’ll watch again and again, and enjoy it more each time. It’s rated PG for mild language and sexual situations.
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