On December 18th, the Oscar-winning romantic-dramedy Moonstruck celebrates its 35-year anniversary. Directed by Norman Jewison, Moonstruck toes the line between jaded and optimistic in its approach to marriage, and above all, celebrates the messiness of love.
What Is 'Moonstruck' About?
In the role that won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, multi hyphenate superstar Cher plays Loretta Castorini, a 37-year-old widow who falls in love with her new fiancé's estranged younger brother. After Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello) proposes to her, he must fly to Italy to be with his dying mother, leaving Loretta with the task of inviting his brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) to their wedding. Ronny hadn’t spoken to him in five years due to an unfortunate accident involving his brother that caused Ronny to lose his hand, after which his then-fiancée left him for another man. Ronny blames his brother for ruining his life, and when Loretta tries to reason with him, they argue passionately and then end up sleeping together. This leads to a chain of events that leave her questioning what she wants out of marriage and if true love is worth pursuing.
In 'Moonstruck,' the Castorinis Believe in Luck
Initially, Loretta takes a pragmatic approach to marriage, accepting a proposal from a man she has lukewarm feelings for, but doesn’t actually love. She’s not a romantic, but has to practically beg Johnny — who didn't even buy her an engagement ring — to get down on one knee. Loretta isn’t thrilled about marrying him, but, after the death of her first husband, decided that love isn’t something she’s looking for in her second marriage. A very superstitious woman, she believes the fact that her first wedding took place in City Hall without the typical fanfare of a traditional wedding was bad luck, and ultimately led to the death of her husband. Insisting they set a date for their wedding before Johnny leaves for Italy, Loretta tells him, “I want a whole wedding, or we’ll have bad luck.”
The Castorinis are firm believers in luck, particularly the bad kind. Loretta blames her late husband getting hit by a bus on bad luck. Despite wanting to get married again, when Ronny questions why Loretta would want to marry his brother, she simply replies, “Because I have no luck.” Loretta’s father Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia) also reminds her of her bad luck when she tells him she's getting remarried, "Your mother and I were married 52 years. Nobody died. You were married, what, two years? Somebody’s dead. Don’t get married again Loretta, it don’t work out for you."
Loretta’s mother Rose (Olympia Dukakis) has a similarly pessimistic attitude towards marriage. When Loretta shares with her the news of her engagement, the first thing Rose does is ask if she loves him. When Loretta says no, she replies, "Good. When you love them, they drive you crazy, because they know they can." Considering her parents' less than enthusiastic reactions to her engagement, its hardly surprising that Loretta inherited a cynical approach to marriage. At 37 years old with no children, Loretta believes her one chance at true love died when her husband did, and seeks the stability a second marriage would offer her despite not being in love with her fiancé. Raised in an Italian-American family, her Uncle Raymond's (Louis Guss) reaction to her engagement — "What’s she gonna do with the rest of her life if she don’t get married?" — is perhaps the most indicative of the cultural expectations Loretta feels the need to conform to when it comes to marriage.
After she and Ronny sleep together and Loretta insists they keep it a secret because she still plans on marrying Johnny, Ronny confesses his love for her. He invites her to go to the opera with him that night, hoping he can change her mind, and though she rejects his declaration of love, agrees to join him. She continues to deny her feelings for Ronny, because that would mean admitting to herself that she does want a relationship based on love, not convenience. Loretta and Ronny are two jaded individuals whose lives were irrevocably damaged by bad luck, but who still yearn for love. It is here where they diverge. While Loretta sees their affair as just another example of a life full of bad luck, Ronny sees it as his luck finally changing for the better.
'Moonstruck' Asks Why Do Men Chase Women?
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While Loretta struggles to admit to herself that she loves Ronny, her mother Rose tries to come to terms with her husband's infidelity. Rose and Cosmo have been married for over 50 years, and though she has no hard proof, she becomes convinced Cosmo is cheating on her, sending her into an existential crisis. One particular question weighs heavily on her mind: "Why do men chase women?" She asks a couple of different men this question throughout the film, before Loretta's soon-to-be-ex fiancé Johnny confirms her hypothesis that it is because they fear death. This understanding allows Rose to see Cosmo for who he really is- an insecure, aging man struggling with his own mortality, looking for excitement in an affair.
In one of the final scenes of the film, Rose confronts Cosmo about his affair in the kitchen with Loretta, Ronny, and Cosmo's father also sitting around the table. There's no big fight or screaming match, Rose simply tells him, "I want you to stop seeing her," and asks that he go to confession. Despite the friction in their marriage, more is communicated via an impassioned exchange of "Ti amo" between Rose and Cosmo than a dramatic, drawn out argument ever could.
In 'Moonstruck,' Love Is Messy and That's Okay
A masterful screenplay by John Patrick Shanley and a transcendent performance from Cher make Moonstruck the perfect vehicle to explore the complexities of love and the ways it can destroy and rebuild relationships. Loretta was ready to resign herself to a loveless marriage with Johnny, until meeting Ronny brings a passion and energy to her life that she didn't realize was missing. After so many years of marriage, Rose intuitively knows Cosmo is cheating on her, but ultimately finds it in herself to forgive him and move on, their relationship held together by the long enduring love they have for each other.
The essence of Moonstruck is perhaps best encapsulated in Ronny's famous plea to Loretta, "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. Snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. We are here to ruin ourselves and break our hearts and love the wrong people and die."