As nine out of 10 romantically-inclined astrologers agree: when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore. Written by John Patrick Shanley and directed by Norman Jewison, Moonstruck (1987) is a perennial rom-com favorite, a delightful serving of sublunar magic starring Cher in an Oscar-winning performance as Loretta Castorini, an Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé Johnny Cammareri’s (Danny Aiello) estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage). Ronny has never forgiven Johnny for messing with his love life earlier, which cost him a girlfriend and a hand in a bakery accident (by Ronny’s logic). Still, when love is in the air during a full moon, bygones become bygones, and even those near and dear to Loretta and Ronny are busy either having their own love affairs or reaffirming commitments.
Co-starring Vincent Gardenia and Olympia Dukakis, the latter particularly appealing as Loretta’s cynical mother, Moonstruck was also nominated for Best Picture. Joining the Criterion Collection, this beloved contemporary classic boasts an excellent 4K digital restoration and features extras including a 2013 introduction with Cher, an audio commentary (by Cher, Jewison, and Shanley), new interviews (with Shanley, and scholar Stefano Albertini about the use of opera in the film), archival interviews (with Jewison, Cher, Cage, Aiello, Dukakis, and Gardenia), a 1989 audio interview with Shanley about screenwriting and the development of Moonstruck, the 2006 “making-of” featurettes “At the Heart of an Italian Family” and “The Music of Moonstruck,” and a booklet with an essay by critic Emily VanDerWerff. Highly recommended.