Moonstruck (1987)

Overview

Moonstruck is a romantic comedy that feels like a finely aged wine: rich, layered, and full of unexpected warmth. Directed by Norman Jewison and written by playwright John Patrick Shanley, the film is a celebration of life, love, loss, and second chances — all wrapped in the vibrant culture of an Italian-American Brooklyn family.

It’s a story about the messiness of romance and the irrationality of the heart, grounded in characters that feel simultaneously specific and universal. Part opera, part domestic comedy, and part fairy tale, Moonstruck earned critical acclaim and audience adoration — culminating in three Academy Awards: Best Actress (Cher), Best Supporting Actress (Olympia Dukakis), and Best Original Screenplay (Shanley).

Plot Summary

Loretta Castorini (Cher) is a pragmatic, widowed bookkeeper in her late 30s living in Brooklyn with her eccentric Italian-American family. When her steady, somewhat dull boyfriend Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello) proposes, she accepts — not out of passion, but because it "seems right." However, when Johnny flies to Sicily to visit his dying mother, he asks Loretta to contact his estranged younger brother, Ronny (Nicolas Cage), a volatile, one-handed baker with whom he’s feuding.

What unfolds is a classic romantic entanglement — Loretta and Ronny fall deeply and suddenly in love, sparking a whirlwind of emotional revelations that affect not just them, but Loretta’s entire family. Meanwhile, her father Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia) is having an affair, her mother Rose (Olympia Dukakis) questions the meaning of love and fidelity, and Loretta must decide between a safe future and a passionate one.

All of this takes place under the magical glow of a giant full moon — the kind that makes people crazy, or "moonstruck."

Themes and Analysis

Love and Its Madness

At the heart of Moonstruck is a central idea: love is irrational, inconvenient, and transformative. The film doesn’t idealize romance; it acknowledges its messiness and unpredictability. Loretta’s struggle is not just about choosing between two men, but about whether to risk emotional chaos for the possibility of true love.

The moon — a recurring image — serves as a metaphor for the lunacy of love. Characters are not in control of their feelings; they are swept away by something larger, something cosmic.

Family, Culture, and Tradition

Moonstruck is deeply rooted in its setting — a close-knit Italian-American Brooklyn neighbourhood. The traditions of family meals, superstition, Catholic guilt, and generational conflict are ever-present. But the film never mocks these things; instead, it honours their role in shaping the characters’ identities.

The Castorini family is the film’s beating heart. Their dinner-table arguments, sarcastic jabs, and interwoven love stories elevate the film from a simple rom-com to a multi-generational tapestry of emotion.

Women and Self-Discovery

Loretta’s journey is not just romantic — it’s personal. She begins the film resigned to a practical but joyless life and ends it fully embracing her desires. Olympia Dukakis’s character, Rose, also experiences her own quiet evolution, coming to terms with aging, marriage, and the nature of companionship.

The women in Moonstruck are intelligent, self-aware, and emotionally complex — and the film respects their perspectives in a way that was refreshingly progressive for the genre.

Performances

Cher as Loretta Castorini

Cher delivers the performance of her career as Loretta — grounded, intelligent, funny, and vulnerable. She sheds her pop icon image entirely, transforming into a working-class woman who is both world-weary and hopeful. Her portrayal is subtle, never overwrought, and her chemistry with Cage is electric.

Her Oscar win was well-deserved not just for the performance itself, but for the honesty she brings to a character who is typically glossed over in Hollywood narratives — a middle-aged, working-class widow.

Nicolas Cage as Ronny Cammareri

Cage plays Ronny as a tortured romantic — dramatic, impulsive, and passionate to the point of madness. His introductory monologue about losing his hand and his fiancé in one fell swoop is delivered with such intensity that it teeters on absurdity, yet somehow remains utterly sincere.

Cage gives Ronny a raw magnetism that contrasts perfectly with Cher’s cool rationality, making their scenes together crackle with unexpected energy.

Olympia Dukakis as Rose Castorini

As Loretta’s wise, weary mother, Dukakis offers one of the film’s most poignant performances. Her dry wit and soulful eyes steal every scene she’s in, especially as she quietly contemplates the fragility of love and the loneliness of aging. Her Oscar-winning turn adds depth and emotional resonance to the film’s broader romantic chaos.

Supporting Cast

Vincent Gardenia as Cosmo is both lovable and exasperating — a man clinging to virility and relevance.

Danny Aiello is charmingly pitiful as the clueless Johnny.

Julie Bovasso and Louis Guss (as Loretta’s aunt and uncle) provide memorable comic moments.

Direction and Screenplay

Norman Jewison directs with elegance and restraint, letting the performances and script shine. He infuses the film with a romantic, almost theatrical quality — helped by sweeping shots of New York at night and the glowing moon that looms over everything. The pacing is brisk, and the tone is remarkably consistent, blending comedy, drama, and romance with ease.

John Patrick Shanley’s Oscar-winning script is a marvel of character, rhythm, and wit. The dialogue sparkles with sharp humour, yet always feels lived-in and authentic. Shanley’s background as a playwright is evident in the tightness of the scenes, and in how every line reveals something about character or theme.

Visuals and Music

The cinematography by David Watkin evokes a romantic, old-world atmosphere. Interiors are warmly lit, evoking intimacy and familial comfort, while exterior shots of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline lend a dreamy, almost mythic feeling.

The film’s score incorporates opera — particularly Puccini’s La Bohème — and other classical pieces, reflecting the characters' emotional highs and lows. The music swells with grandeur at just the right moments, reminding viewers that even ordinary lives can feel operatic.

Notable Scenes

"Snap out of it!" — Loretta slapping Ronny after he confesses his love is one of the most iconic moments in film comedy.

Rose’s dinner with the professor — A subtle, bittersweet moment that underscores her dignity and quiet intelligence.

The family breakfast finale — An emotionally layered, beautifully written scene that resolves the film’s many tensions with warmth and grace.

Ronny and Loretta’s night at the opera — A sequence that captures the intoxicating beauty of falling in love.

Reception and Legacy

Moonstruck was both a critical and commercial success, grossing over $80 million (a huge sum for a romantic comedy in the late '80s) and earning six Academy Award nominations, winning three.

Its success helped redefine the romantic comedy for more mature audiences and proved that films about older, working-class characters could be both commercially viable and artistically rich.

Today, it is widely regarded as one of the best romantic comedies ever made — often appearing on AFI and critics’ “greatest” lists — and it remains a favourite for its heart, humour, and humanity.

Moonstruck is a romantic comedy that transcends genre clichés. It’s wise, funny, and brimming with emotional truth. With an Oscar-winning script, flawless direction, and career-best performances — especially from Cher and Dukakis — the film invites us to embrace the chaos of love, the comfort of family, and the madness of being alive.

It’s not just a movie about falling in love; it’s a movie about choosing love — again and again, in the face of doubt, loss, and life’s uncertainties.

A true classic, Moonstruck continues to enchant audiences and remains, like the moon itself, timeless.