If you saw Moonstruck, you probably remember it as a 1980’s romantic comedy involving a lot of Italian people. It was very well reviewed and was successful at the box office. It featured several prominent stars and some not so prominent, but solid performers. The two major stars - Cher and Nicholas Cage give great performances but Vincent Gardenia and Olympia Dukakis steal just about every scene they’re in.
It's a Family Movie |
Moonstruck
may be classified as a romantic comedy but when you think of most modern
romantic comedies, this one doesn’t really match the formula. Most modern romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle,
As Good as it Gets, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and so on, tend to just focus
on the one couple and getting them together.
Also, usually, at least one of the couple-to-be at first despises the
other or at least, doesn’t see the other in a romantic way. Before the couple ends up together, there’s
an emotional roller coaster ride that gets them tantalizingly close to being
together one moment, then losing the connection in the next. In Moonstruck, Loretta and Ronnie (played by Cher
and Nicholas Cage respectively) pretty much just fall in love with each other
minutes after they meet. There’s really
never a question of “will they ever love each other?” In fact, they make love for the first time
early in the movie and stay in love throughout the entire movie. Also, Moonstruck has stuff going on with other
couples besides the main one.
This didn't take long |
So
what’s going on with this movie? The
love story and the Italian culture aspects are really only part of a deeper
tale. Moonstruck was written by John
Patrick Shanley, who also wrote and directed Joe vs. the Volcano which
is a film I already had analyzed a while back and pointed out many hidden
complexities underneath what at first appears to be a simple story. So I’m on familiar ground here.
Death
Ever notice all the death references, both visually and in the
dialog of Moonstruck? There’s a ton of
them.
Loretta is an accountant and early on, we see her with a
client that happens to be the owner of a funeral home. The scene even includes a “death and taxes”
inference.
Mr. Nucciarone: ”Numbers,
taxes, receipts, I make them look better than they did in real life.”
"Numbers, taxes, receipts, I make them look better than they did in real life." (Death and Taxes) |
We learn that Loretta’s previous husband had died. Loretta, her fiancĂ©, as well as her father
and mother just seem to talk about death.
Loretta: “Alright, you
know I was married and that my husband died, but you don’t know is…I think he
and I had bad luck.”
Loretta's previous husband died |
"...or I shall die!" (Father now singing it.) |
"Everything is temporary!" |
"Who's dead?" |
"He thinks that if he holds onto his money, he'll never die." |
"My mother is slipping away!" |
Johnny (on the phone):
“I’m calling from the deathbed of my mother.”
Loretta (also on the
phone): “Yeah? Well, how was your plane
ride?”
Johnny: “The waitresses
were very nice. My mother is slipping
away!”
.
.
.
Johnny: “No, no, not yet. I’m waiting, I’m waiting for a moment when she’s peaceful.”
.
.
Johnny: “No, no, not yet. I’m waiting, I’m waiting for a moment when she’s peaceful.”
Loretta: “Well, don’t
wait until she’s dead.”
When we see Ronnie for the first time, we see that he is
like this too.
"I have no life. My brother Johnny took my life." |
"Bring me the big knife. I'm going to cut my throat." |
And all these death references just continue – pretty much
throughout the movie.
"I'm going to kick you 'til you're dead." |
"I've should have taken a rock and killed myself years ago." / "You and I are going to take this to our coffins." |
"I think it's because they fear death." |
Even the opera Loretta and Ronnie see featured a lead
character – a woman, who dies.
Loretta: “She died.”
Ronnie: “Yes.”
Loretta: “I couldn’t
believe it. I didn’t think she was going
to die.”
"She died." |
Rose: “Why do men chase women?”
…
Johnny: “Maybe because he fears death.”
"Maybe because he fears death." |
"No matter what you do, you're going to die." |
There
are three families involved in this story – Castorini, Cammareri, and
Cappomaggi. Notice that these names,
besides being Italian, start with the letter “C”, have the same number of
syllables, and sound similarly. Rose
(Olympia Dukakis), Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia), and Loretta Castorini, along with
both Cammereri brothers, Ronnie and Johnny (Danny Aiello), all seem to share an
obsession with death. It’s in their
surroundings and in their conversations.
They can’t seem to go two sentences without mentioning death. They even dress in drab clothing. Notice how Rose Castorini hypothesized that
men chase women because they fear death.
Then when she asked Johnny Cammareri why men chase women, he confirmed
her hypothesis completely without even knowing that that was the answer she was
looking for.
Loretta becomes engaged to Johnny Cammereri but she openly
admits she doesn’t love him. Without
true love, Loretta and Johnny are doomed to be people waiting for death and
blaming everything on bad luck.
To hit this point again, let’s look at the elderly woman at
the airport. She tells Loretta that long
ago, her sister had stolen her boyfriend and she’s still very bitter about it
many years later. This woman chose to
live a bitter life holding a grudge against her sister. This has made her death-obsessed and
superstitious. The woman serves as a
warning to Loretta as to what not to become.
Death is symbolized by the colors white, black, and
grey. Notice how Loretta is seen through
most of the film in these colors. This
eventually changes. I’ll get to that
later.
Life
The Cappomaggi couple (Raymond and Rita) contrast the others. They are happy, have fun with each other, and seem to embrace life. You never hear either of them dwell upon death the way the others around them do.
Luna = Moon |
Raymond: “I never told
you this – because it’s not really a story.
One time, I woke up in the middle of the night cause of this bright
light in my face – like a flashlight. I
couldn’t think of what it was. I looked
out the window and it was the Moon – as big as a house! I’ve never seen the Moon so big before. I was almost scared – like it was going to
crush the house. I looked down and
standing there in the street was Cosmo looking up at the windows. This is the funny part. I got mad at you Cosmo. I thought you had brought that big Moon over
to my house because you were so in love.
You woke me up with it. I was
half-asleep I guess, I didn’t know any better.”
Cosmo: “You were all-together asleep. You were dreaming.”
Raymond: “No. You were there.”
Cosmo: “I don’t want to talk about it!”
The Moon even makes Raymond appear younger (to his wife
anyway).
Raymond: “Look!”
Rita: “What?”
Raymond: “It’s Cosmo’s
Moon!”
Rita: “What are you
talking about? Cosmo can’t own the
Moon.”
Raymond: “It’s that
Moon I was talking about at dinner. Is
he down there?”
Rita: “Is who down
there?”
Raymond: “Cosmo.”
Rita: “Well, what
would he be doing down there?”
Raymond: “I don’t
know.”
Rita: “You know
something? In that light…with that
expression on your face…you look about 25 years old.”
Now Rose, as we know, is obsessed with death like her
husband. She’s changing however. The full Moon that appears in the middle of
the movie attracts her, while Cosmo sleeps unaware.
"In that light...with that expression on your face...you look about 25 years old." |
Perhaps the change in Rose is due to the realization that
her husband is having an affair. Instead
of succumbing to her death fascination, she decides to seek life. I’ll get to more of this later.
Ronnie: “What’s the
matter?”
Loretta:
“Nothing. I’m looking at the Moon.”
Ronnie: “It’s
perfect!”
Loretta: “I’ve never
seen a Moon like that before.”
The next morning, however, Loretta denies having even seen
the full Moon. Without her true love
Ronnie, she goes back to her death-oriented way of seeing the world.
Raymond: “Did you see that Moon last night?”
Loretta: “W-What Moon?”
Raymond: “Did you see
it?”
So, in understanding the Moon equals life theme. We now know that certain characters who have
the death obsession problem are seeking out life. Now, I’ll talk about another symbol in the
movie, the wolf.
There are several wolf references in Moonstruck.
Woman: “What are you
talking about? I’ve seen the way you look at her and it isn’t right!”
Man: “How do I look at
her? Can I help you?”
Loretta: “Spear du Mumms.”
Man: “So, how do I
look at her?”
Woman: “Like a wolf!”
Man: “Like a wolf,
eh?”
Woman: “Uh huh, like a
wolf!”
Ronnie: “I’m a wolf.”
Loretta: “Yeah. The big part of you has no words and uh, it’s
a wolf.”
What’s a major characteristic we associate with wolves? They howl at the Moon, of course. Howling at the Moon indicates the wolf seeks
life. How does a wolf find life? - By finding a mate.
"I'm a wolf." |
"The Moon, uh brings the woman to the man, capisce?" |
Loretta: “Animal! What an animal!”
"Animal! What an animal!" |
Speaking of the Moon, did you know that it’s magical in this
movie? This is no ordinary Moon. It’s always perfectly full even though
several days go by in the movie. Let’s
look at the chronology.
We see a full Moon during the opening credits when the “La
Boheme” opera was getting prepared to open.
This is presumably the night before we first see Loretta going to the
funeral home. So this is night number one.
The next night, after Johnny proposes to Loretta, we see the
full Moon as Johnny’s plane leaves for Palermo.
This is night number two. Notice
too that nobody acknowledges the full Moon on this night. Everybody is too busy thinking about death to
notice the full Moon.
The following night is when Loretta slept with Ronnie and
they both admired the full Moon. So did
Raymond and Loretta’s grandfather and his dogs. This is the same night Rose notices the
Moon. This is night number three.
The final night in the movie has Ronnie and Loretta, and
Cosmo at the opera, Rose at the restaurant, and the grandfather again with his
dogs. There it is again! – Another full
Moon.
In case you didn’t know, a full Moon does not last four
nights. Either something magical is
taking place here or the full Moon is really just in the eyes and minds of
those who choose to see it.
There are some more Moon references where the filmmakers got
a little cute. Look at the way
Moonstruck is written on the movie poster or DVD cover.
See how the two “O’s” are intertwined? It’s intended so your subconscious will
associate two round objects together with the title, and more specifically,
with the Moon. We first see it, of
course, during the opening credits.
Although not together, the two “O’s” are lined up in the
word “Metropolitan” shown on the truck containing items for the upcoming opera. It can also be noted that the word
“Metropolitan” begins with “M”, ends with “N” and has two “O’s” inside.
At the Grand Ticino Italian Ristorante, the two cups of
expresso form the two O’s. Okay, maybe
I’m reaching here but why is the camera following the coffee and not the
waiter? Why did the filmmakers care
about showing the cups at all?
In Ronnie’s apartment, the electrical outlets are arranged
in an unusual way. Have you ever seen
them on their side like this before?
Even if you have, this seems very odd.
And finally, the two ancestors shown at the very end suggest
the two “O’s” in the way they are framed.
The portraits, in fact as they are shown at the end, tie in the
intertwined themes of the Moon, love, and family.
Carmine the Florist: “Red roses – very romantic, oh! Oh, the guy
who sends these really knows what he’s doing, eh?
Loretta: “The guy who sends those spent a lot of money
for something that’s going to end up in the garbage.”
Another symbol of life is the color red. Actually, red seems to symbolize the
combination of life and love and when you find one, you find the other. The romantic florist gushes over red roses
while Loretta only notes their mortality.
Later, after Loretta had her first encounter with Ronnie, she
impulsively decides to buy a red dress for her date with Ronnie at the
opera. This is a real sign of change for
Loretta as we had only seen her in subdued colors up to this point. Of course, it’s because she’s falling in love
with Ronnie that is causing this change.
Note how Loretta drank white wine with Johnny, but when she prepared for
her date at the opera with Ronnie, she drinks red wine. At
the opera, Loretta shows up with a full-length black coat hiding her new red
dress. She has her guard up again.
"The guy who sends those spent a lot of money for something that's going to end up in the garbage." |
Ronnie: “Hi.”
Loretta: “Hi.”
Ronnie: “You look beautiful – your hair!”
Loretta: “Yeah, I had it done. You look, uh, beautiful too.”
Ronnie: “Thank you.”
(Ronnie leans over to kiss Loretta)
Loretta: “No! I said I’d go to the opera with you, but
that’s all.”
Loretta is not ready to give in to love with Ronnie and this
is symbolized by her covering the red dress.
They enter the opera house, which has red carpeting and red
seemingly everywhere. The opera house is
a place of life and like the Moon; it draws those who seek life once they’ve
found their mate. Loretta eventually
succumbs to all the signs of life around her and removes her coat revealing her
red dress.
The Red Dress is Hidden |
Ronnie: “Wow!
Thank you.”
Cosmo is at the opera too. He is apparently seeking new life with his mistress, who happens to be wearing red…well, not really. She’s actually wearing pink – a false red and therefore, a false beacon of life. Cosmo is on the wrong path to life with the wrong woman.
As the opera is going, Rose is seeking life too. She goes to the very red “Grand Ticino”
restaurant – the same restaurant where Johnny had proposed to Loretta
earlier. Here, she encounters the
ultimate wolf. The professor, whom we
had seen earlier, goes through a cycle of dating his students and inevitably
alienating them. Rose obviously is drawn
to him and perhaps, even briefly, considers giving in to his charm. Rose is strong, though, and soon realizes
this would lead to disaster. It actually
gives her resolve to fix things with her husband Cosmo.
Love
Now We See it |
Cosmo is at the opera too. He is apparently seeking new life with his mistress, who happens to be wearing red…well, not really. She’s actually wearing pink – a false red and therefore, a false beacon of life. Cosmo is on the wrong path to life with the wrong woman.
Pink is Not Red |
The Ultimate "Wolf" |
Everything culminates in the final scene at the Castorini
home. Loretta and Ronnie are going to
marry (for love, even). Cosmo agrees to
pay for the wedding. Rose confronts
Cosmo in a gentle way and reminds him that his life is not built on nothing and
she loves him.
Ultimately, Moonstruck is a fable of the zest for love and
life and how you can’t have one without the other. Without them, you are just waiting for
death. It’s clichĂ© but the movie does
this extraordinarily well with its story, characters, and symbolism. At the end, everybody who found love is
happy. Even poor Johnny has some hope as
the grandfather tells him he’s part of the family, even if he’s not marrying
Loretta. Family is love! Love is life!