RomComs - "Snap out of it!"
This is Cher's greatest achievement, as far as I'm concerned.
Moonstruck
Loretta Castorini (Cher) has not been lucky in love. She fell in love with a man and impulsively married him, not bothering to trifle with a traditional wedding. Soon afterwards her husband is hit by a bus. The movie opens with Loretta on a date with the only beau she has had since, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello). Johnny is a schlub, and Loretta isn't really in love with him, but she accepts his proposal of marriage - after she has to persuade him to get down on one knee and present her with a ring. She insists on the ceremony, because she thinks that not doing these things before was what led to her bad luck.
Johnny heads to Palermo to see his dying mother and to tell her about his engagement. Meanwhile, Loretta is left to plan the wedding. Johnny has left her one task - to get in touch with his brother Ronny and make sure that he comes to the wedding. He hopes this will help lessen the bad blood between them.
Ronny has had his share of bad luck as well. He was engaged, but his fiancee left him for another man when he got his hand chopped off in an accident at his bakery - an accident he blames on Johnny coming in and distracting him, hence the bad blood. Of course, being invited to Johnny's wedding when *he's* still heartbroken is not something he sees as a conciliatory gesture. So Loretta goes to see him in person and tries to persuade him. But she ends up falling for him instead.
The romance is really great, but I do think that all great romance stories (comedies or no) need to have at least one character you love that is not a part of the main couple. This movie has those in spades. I love (LOVE) Olympia Dukakis as Loretta's mother, who suspects her husband of cheating. I love Vincent Gardenia, Loretta's plumber father, who woos the "other woman" and resists the idea of paying for his daughter's wedding. I really love John Mahoney as the restaurant patron who periodically has a glass of water thrown in his face. Julie Bovasso and Louis Guss are really sweet and memorable as the aunt and uncle. And I LOVE the old man and his dogs.
This is a wonderful and incredibly romantic movie. It's set in the time it was made, but it feels very timeless. I remember going to the Met in NYC the last time I was there, and I couldn't help thinking of this movie as I walked across the courtyard. It's funny, sweet, sexy, and brilliant. If you haven't seen it, definitely check it out, preferably with a bottle of wine and Italian food. :-)
Great Moments in Dialogue: Not quite as great as Costner's Speech from Bull Durham, but this speech, delivered by Nic Cage was pretty incredible in its own right.
Ronny: Loretta, I love you. Not like they told you love is, and I didn't know this either, but love don't make things nice - it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess. We aren't here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us. Not us! We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and *die*. The storybooks are *bullshit*. Now I want you to come upstairs with me and *get* in my bed!
Yes sir! :P
"Awwww!" Moment: Rose and Cosmo at the end - "Ti amo."
Moonstruck
Loretta Castorini (Cher) has not been lucky in love. She fell in love with a man and impulsively married him, not bothering to trifle with a traditional wedding. Soon afterwards her husband is hit by a bus. The movie opens with Loretta on a date with the only beau she has had since, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello). Johnny is a schlub, and Loretta isn't really in love with him, but she accepts his proposal of marriage - after she has to persuade him to get down on one knee and present her with a ring. She insists on the ceremony, because she thinks that not doing these things before was what led to her bad luck.
Johnny heads to Palermo to see his dying mother and to tell her about his engagement. Meanwhile, Loretta is left to plan the wedding. Johnny has left her one task - to get in touch with his brother Ronny and make sure that he comes to the wedding. He hopes this will help lessen the bad blood between them.
Ronny has had his share of bad luck as well. He was engaged, but his fiancee left him for another man when he got his hand chopped off in an accident at his bakery - an accident he blames on Johnny coming in and distracting him, hence the bad blood. Of course, being invited to Johnny's wedding when *he's* still heartbroken is not something he sees as a conciliatory gesture. So Loretta goes to see him in person and tries to persuade him. But she ends up falling for him instead.
The romance is really great, but I do think that all great romance stories (comedies or no) need to have at least one character you love that is not a part of the main couple. This movie has those in spades. I love (LOVE) Olympia Dukakis as Loretta's mother, who suspects her husband of cheating. I love Vincent Gardenia, Loretta's plumber father, who woos the "other woman" and resists the idea of paying for his daughter's wedding. I really love John Mahoney as the restaurant patron who periodically has a glass of water thrown in his face. Julie Bovasso and Louis Guss are really sweet and memorable as the aunt and uncle. And I LOVE the old man and his dogs.
This is a wonderful and incredibly romantic movie. It's set in the time it was made, but it feels very timeless. I remember going to the Met in NYC the last time I was there, and I couldn't help thinking of this movie as I walked across the courtyard. It's funny, sweet, sexy, and brilliant. If you haven't seen it, definitely check it out, preferably with a bottle of wine and Italian food. :-)
Great Moments in Dialogue: Not quite as great as Costner's Speech from Bull Durham, but this speech, delivered by Nic Cage was pretty incredible in its own right.
Ronny: Loretta, I love you. Not like they told you love is, and I didn't know this either, but love don't make things nice - it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess. We aren't here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us. Not us! We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and *die*. The storybooks are *bullshit*. Now I want you to come upstairs with me and *get* in my bed!
Yes sir! :P
"Awwww!" Moment: Rose and Cosmo at the end - "Ti amo."