Film Friday: Norman Jewison's 'Moonstruck' starring Cher and Nicholas Cage

The romantic comedy genre appears to be dead, with the revival that happened during the late 1980s and early 1990s – highlighted by the work of Nora Ephron – long behind us. But the romantic comedy, I would argue, is as important to Hollywood film history as another dead genre, the musical. Sometimes, audiences just need to laugh along with stars and a witty script, which is exactly what the best romantic comedies have. That includes the film that really revived the genre, Norman Jewison's Moonstruck.

The 1987 film not only revitalized the In The Heat of the Night director's career, but it revived Hollywood's ability to make us laugh without dumbing it down for the audience. It's a throwback to the best romantic comedies, all thanks to John Patrick Shanley's intelligent script. Shanley, a playwright with an impressive resume that includes Doubt, rightfully won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The plot for Moonstruck is simple at its foundation – a woman falls in love with her fiance's brother – and Shanley builds unique elements that make Moonstruck feel like a five-minute film.

Cher stars as Loretta Castorini, a 37-year-old woman left single after her husband was run over by a bus. She lives with her parents – Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia) and Rose (Olympia Dukakis) – and Cosmo's father (Feodor Chaliapin Jr.) and is about to settle down by marrying Johnny (Danny Aiello). However, the wedding has to be delayed so Danny can be with his dying mother in Sicily. Danny tells Loretta to invite his brother Ronny (Nicholas Cage) to the wedding, which he hopes will end their five-year feud.

But of course, love springs up in surprising places and Loretta falls in love with Ronny, a much more adventurous choice than Johnny. That is what Moonstruck really boils down to, at least for Loretta's story. On her way to avoid curses, she looked for the easy way out, but who she really loves is the wolf.

Since Moonstruck has a more theatrical gene in it than most romantic comedies, Shanley and Jewison round out the film with other important stories that complement Loretta. Rose and Cosmo have had a long marriage, but Cosmo is cheating on her. Cosmo's affair with another woman is revealed to be only a fleeting desire not to feel old, but his daughter's affair with another man is a stronger result of a search for true happiness.

This movie is nearing 30 years old already and since then, Cher has obviously gone on to become a pop superstar and outrageous dresser. But she actually had an ability to act, which would be nice to see every so often again. In Moonstruck, she is really good and certainly did enough to win an Oscar. There's a great moment during the La Boheme sequence when we see her tear up and her comic time is right there as she and Cage leave the opera. (“I was surprised, you know, I didn't think she was gonna die, I knew she was sick...” “She had TB!” “I know! I mean, she was coughing her brains out, and still she had to keep singing!”)

Olympia Dukakis also won an Oscar for her part as Rose, a suffering housewife who searches for answers to the mystery: “Why do men chase women?” (Oddly enough, the most boring man in the movie – Johnny – is the one that gives her a satisfactory answer.) She gets one big solo sequence with the pitiful college professor at the restaurant. You can just see it on her face that she feels sorry for a guy who knows absolutely nothing about women.

Shanley's theatrical background is really on display with his ending, which might seem “too-cute” if it didn't work so well. It's a Thin Man-esque ending, bringing all the characters together in one room to give them one final moment together. We get that happy ending, but in a funny and somewhat surprising way.

Moonstruck is one of those rare comedies that actually earned prestige reserved for dramas or boring epics. In fact, it was one of only two movies at the 60th Oscars to win more than one award. The other was Bernardo Burtolucci's The Last Emperor, which won Best Picture. While that movie is a more prestigious masterpiece, Moonstruck is a successful comedy that is more likely to be easily remembered. It's just a bit sad that we can't have more comedies like it.

You can talk about this film and others at the Film Friday Facebook page. You can check out past Film Friday columns here.