Moonstruck

Moonstruck (1987) is a romantic comedy set inside an Italian American family, and it is much sharper than the usual example. Loretta is thirty seven, widowed, and has decided to marry again. Her fiancé Johnny is dull but safe. When he goes to Italy to see his mother, he asks her to invite his brother Ronny to the wedding. The brothers have not spoken in years. She goes, and meets Ronny. The best thing about the film is that the romance does not belong only to the young. Loretta's mother Rose knows her husband is unfaithful, and the sharpest dialogue in the film is hers. Her question is why men chase women. The answer she gets is the film in miniature. Nicolas Cage gives one of the most extreme performances of his career: a baker with a wooden hand who blames his own brother and is in love with opera. The character is nearly absurd and the film takes him seriously. Opera runs through the texture of it; the La Bohème that Loretta and Ronny attend was not chosen at random. Cher won Best Actress, Olympia Dukakis won Supporting Actress and John Patrick Shanley won Original Screenplay. It runs 102 minutes. Good for: classic romantic comedy, family stories, and the eighties. Less good for: the humour is loud and built on Italian American stereotypes, which some will find overdone.