Moonstruck

Starring: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, Julie Bovasso, John Mahoney
Directed by: Norman Jewison
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
1987

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Cher) begins to fall for the brother (Nicolas Cage) of the man (Danny Aiello) she's agreed to marry.

Review:

Tim: I was interested to finally see Moonstruck- the film won 3 Academy Awards and was nominated for 6, including Best Picture. That's impressive and speaks to the fact that this is an above-average Romantic Dramedy. Imagine my surprise when I sat down and watched a generic, unfunny, unlikable film. For the life of me, I can't understand why so many people like this movie. It was a chore to get through and I certainly have no desire to see this movie again. Norman Jewison's film wasn't terrible, but it wasn't remarkable in the least.

I'm not sure why I was supposed to care about any of the characters. Cher certainly acted like a stereotypical Italian woman, but there wasn't anything about her that made me want to get invested. She's controlling, a micro-manager, and in the beginning of the film, gets engaged to a guy who the film takes great effort in telling us is a bit of a schmuck. So, she had poor taste in men, lives with her parents, and is a bit annoying. And this is our main character. To improve her standing in our eyes, she immediately falls in love with her fiance's brother. This happens while her brand-new fiance is out of the country, visiting his dying mother. Honest to God, you can't make this stuff up. Why was I supposed to care about this unlikable woman?

Her new love interest isn't much better. He's a one-handed butcher with some serious mental issues (which mysteriously vanish after his introductory scene). Without remorse or hesitation, he immediately sleeps with his brother's fiance. He comes across as a bit of a loser (oh, but he's so dashing!). I didn't care about him, either. There's a colorful cast of supporting characters, most of whom are either cheating or considering cheating on their spouses. The whole thing just seemed like a bad joke. There aren't any characters that you can truly like, outside of perhaps Olympia Dukakis and John Mahoney, both of whom have small roles. It made this 1 hour, 42 minute film feel much longer.

I have to say, I'm a bit shocked that Cher won the Academy Award for Best Actress here. She wasn't terrible, but it felt like every other romantic comedy/drama role. It might have been slightly meatier than most, but I'm in awe of how voters selected her for the Academy Award. It has to be one of the most head-scratching choices. I was also surprised Olympia Dukakis won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. I can see how the voters would give it to her, but I would have made a different choice. I'm also shocked (do you see a theme emerging here?) that this film won Best Original Screenplay. This has to be one of the worst films ever to win 3 Academy Awards. It's certainly one of the most overrated films I've ever seen.

The wonderful thing about movies is that you never know what will connect or not connect with any individual viewer. For the most part, I can see what people appreciate about critically acclaimed films. That is the opposite here- try as I might, I just can't see Moonstruck as anything more than an average film full of unlikable characters. I wouldn't have nominated it for a single award, let alone given it 3. Now, I've been incredibly harsh on this film, mostly as a reaction to the critical praise it received. It's not a terrible movie- it's just a weak, forgettable one. I have to say, though, this is one of the more disappointing films I've seen in recent years- I honestly expected it to be good.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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