Moonstruck

Directed by Norman Jewison, Moonstruck follows Cher’s Loretta Castorini as she finds herself drawn to the tempestuous brother (Nicolas Cage’s Ronny) of her fiancé (Danny Aiello’s Johnny). Filmmaker Jewison, armed with a script by John Patrick Shanley, delivers a subdued endeavor that grows more and more involving (and engrossing) as it unfolds, as the movie’s been saddled with a low-key opening stretch that’s perhaps not quite as immediately captivating as one might’ve hoped – with the viewer’s interest, then, sustained by the raft of compelling central and periphery characters. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that Jewison has elicited superb work from his stars and talented supporting performers like Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis, and John Mahoney, with the latter’s scene-stealing turn as an aging womanizer certainly a continuing highlight within the proceedings.) There’s little doubt, then, that Moonstruck benefits from a narrative that is, to an increasingly pronounced extent, teeming with engaging, entertaining scenes and sequences (eg Cage’s Ronny passionately explains how he lost his hand), and it’s clear, too, that the picture’s stirring second half, which is capped off with a rewarding, spellbinding final few minutes, ensures that it concludes on about as satisfying a note as one could envision – with the final result a top-notch endeavor that’s been packed with memorable interludes and terrific performances.

***1/2 out of ****