Moonstruck is a very popular rom-com from the 80s that many people hold in high regard. I was aware of the movie and had heard it was one of Nicolas Cage’s best early performances. I like Nic Cage and Cher so I am kind of surprised that I had never given this movie a chance, but I saw it on Amazon Prime while scrolling one night and decided to finally give it a try.
How to Download Moonstruck
Moonstruck was released on December 18, 1987. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you want to see more movies with Nic Cage, check out Face/Off (1997) or The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022).
The Movie Review
Look, I liked Moonstruck well enough, it was fun, cute, and very American-Italian and it was also very 80s. The thing is, I feel like I had to have seen this movie in the 80s or 90s to truly appreciate it. Again, I liked it, I had fun with it and I thought that the chemistry between Cher and Nic Cage was good. However, I did not love it and I would not say it is one of the best romantic comedies that I have ever seen.
Cher Shines as Loretta
The main character is Loretta who is played by Cher. It is kind of amusing to me how in the movie Loretta is in her late 30s when the movie came out in 1987. I sweat Cher has been in her late 30s forever as she never seems to age all that much, not that I am hating, Cher in the 80s and 90s was iconic and super hot.
Set in New York. Loretta after the death of her husband, lives with her parents and her grandfather, they are a very stereotypical Italian-American New York family. Loretta ends up engaged to her boyfriend, Johnny, but it is not all sunflowers and rainbows as there is a real lack of a spark here. After proposing, Johnny is heading to Italy to tend to his sick mother and he asks Loretta to invite his estranged brother, Ronny to their wedding.
Nicolas Cage as Ronny
Turns out that Johnny and Ronny have not spoken for several years! Loretta meets Ronny and they have an instant connection and the two of them end up hooking up and falling for each other. Ronny is played by Nicolas Cage and it is so amusing to see him in this role. He has a fake hand which looks so fake it is hilarious and there is just something strange about the way he looks here.
Family Drama and Romance
As well as the stuff with Loretta and Ronny, Moonstruck also has some drama with her parents that she has to deal with as well. I am going to be 100 percent honest here, I do not get it. As I said, I like this movie, but I found it more funny than cute and romantic and I am not sure the stuff I found funny I was supposed to.
To be fair, there are many movies that I grew up with in the 80s and 90s that I have tried to get my teenage son to watch, only for him to say that they are not as great as I made them out to be. There are some movies that are just a product of their time and that is what I was getting from Moonstruck.
Hey, if you like this movie, more power to you and I can certainly see why you would. As someone who likes both Cher and Nicolas Cage, I got a kick out of seeing them here, especially this younger Nic Cage. I am not sure I would ever want to watch this one again, but I am glad that I have finally seen it after the better part of 40 years!
