Director Norman Jewison set out to make an old-fashioned fairy tale of love at first sight in the manner of Lubitsch or Capra.
Moonstruck is set in the Italian section of New York and stars Cher as Loretta Castorini – a widowed accountant who accepts a proposal of marriage from dull businessman Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello) and then falls head over heels for his volatile baker brother, Ronny (Nicolas Cage).
Against a backdrop of steak and opera, Loretta lets Ronny carry her to bed, only to wake up the next morning, slap him in the face, tell him she’s never going to see him again, and then agree to go to the opera with him that night, so long as he doesn’t come to the wedding.
It’s the ultimate sexy complication, with Ronny laying down his feelings and Loretta (sort of) rebuffing them immediately.
Cher’s accent seems more located in Little Venice, California, than Little Italy, and the relentless emphasis on pasta and vino threatens to turn this romantic comedy into a compendium of clichés – but it charms nonetheless.
Loretta Castorini
Cher
Ronny Cammareri
Nicolas Cage
Johnny Cammareri
Danny Aiello
Cosmo Castorini
Vincent Gardenia
Rose Castorini
Olympia Dukakis
Rita Cappomaggi
Julie Bovasso
Perry
John Mahoney
Raymond Cappomaggi
Louis Guss
Mona
Anita Gillette
Chrissy
Nada Despotovich
Barbara
Robin Bartlett
Lotte
Helen Hanft
Irv
David S. Howard
Bobo
Robert Weil
Bonnie
Amy Aquino
Conti
Tony Azito
Nancy
Ann Mcdonough
Lowell
John Christopher Jones
Patricia
Lisa Howard
Sheila
Cynthia Dale
Mimi
Martha Collins
Rodolfo
John Fanning
Vesta
Antonio Minella
Eddie
Nicholas Pasco
Bob
Al Therrien
Mook
Lou Pitoscia
Rocco
Gilberto Godoy
Jimmy
Louis Di Bianco
Pietro
Michael Barbaro
Franco
Antonio Pariselli
Director
Norman Jewison
