If I had to come up with a list of my all-time top ten movies, I think I can safely say Moonstruck would be on it. Movies come and go and grow and recede in my estimation, but this one has never felt less than perfect.
I’ve never seen The Last Emperor, which won the Best Picture Oscar over Moonstruck in 1988, but is there any chance it lives on in people’s hearts and minds two decades later the way this film does? No way.
I remember seeing this film alone at a multiplex theater in Fairfax, Virginia… a dorky high school kid who rode his bike to see romantic comedies. That was the first real multiplex I ever went to, back when most movies played in theater with two or three screens. (I’m starting to feel old again)
I love the way this film embeds itself in my family’s daily conversation. Alex and I frequently echo Rose Castorini, shouting “The house!” when something gets knocked around. Or Johnny Cammareri’s line reading from the same scene, when he’s unsure about his answer to the question of why men chase women… “I don’t know!” And Rose’s reply, “No, that’s it!”
And who can forget Cosmo’s priceless monologue on why you have to pony up for good plumbing: “There’s three types of pipe. There’s the kind of pipe you have, which is garbage, and you can see where that got you. Then there’s bronze, which is very good. Unless something goes wrong. And something always goes wrong. Then there’s copper, which is the only pipe I use. It costs money. It costs money because it saves money.”
I probably don’t give director Norman Jewison enough credit for how great Moonstruck is. His framing, pacing, color palette, choice and direction of actors, etc. are all impeccable. Still, I consider this John Patrick Shanley’s film through and through. The memorable characters, the peerless dialogue, the perfect structure… this could be the best screenplay ever written.
And the scene I’ve chosen to highlight could be my favorite moment in the film, though I have a hundred contenders. Here, Loretta and Ronny are walking home after a night at the opera. She is engaged to his brother but in love with him. As they argue about whether it’s ever too late to change your life, ‘Che Gelida Manina,’ my favorite Puccini aria (because of this scene and this movie) rises up on the soundtrack.
It’s only when the scene is over that I realize I’ve been holding my breath since it began.
Meet Me In Montauk 
Thank you Thank you Thank you for including my favorite movie of all time in your great scenes. We also repeat many of the wonderful lines in the movie, “I placed a curse on her” “old man feed your dogs another plate of my food and I’ll beat you until you’re dead” (may not be the exact line but close) “snap out of it” I try to watch this at least once a year and we’ve seen the opera at least 5 times, one of our favorites. You made my day! Somehow I remember us all going to see this movie together in Fairfax, guess I was mistaken.
No, you’re right. I went back with you two. (Or maybe I’m mistaken and that was the first time I saw it)
“I’m so confused” is the line I’m afraid I feel the urge to recite far too often 🙂 After this film, I worshipped John Patrick Shanley, finding the grace and nuance in Joe vs. the Volcano and Five Corners, for nobody responsible for Moonstruck could ever write a false line. This is the film (or at least one of a handful) that made me appreciate films as more than entertainment. With Moonstruck, I learned that film could be art.
I just now started to watch the scene. Damn. How great do they look?!
Don’t they look wonderful! I love the scene when he first sees her the night of the opera in Lincoln Square. Dad loves to say “He took my wife, he took my hand!” So many great lines. Here’s to La Familia!
So great! Another favorite is when her mother asks Loretta if she loves Ronny and she responds “Yeah Ma, I love him awful” to which her mother says “Oh God, that’s too bad.” Or when her aunt and uncle ask about the bank deposit and, when it turns out she still has it in her bag say “We never suspected you”. Priceless. Too many to mention, really. It’s as perfect a movie as I’ve ever seen and I’d be hard-pressed to find an entire day in which I haven’t quoted Moonstruck at some point.