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Moonstruck
MGM

Moonstruck reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 83 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.3 out of 10
based on 17 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 11 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG

Starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, Julie Bovasso, John Mahoney, and Louis Guss

In this romantic comedy, Loretta (Cher), a young widow, feels unlucky in love and is content to wed a man she does not love (Aiello)...until she meets and falls hopelessly in love with his younger brother (Cage).


GENRE(S): Romance  
WRITTEN BY: John Patrick Shanley  
DIRECTED BY: Norman Jewison  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: November 13, 2001 
Video: January 9, 2001 
Theatrical: December 18, 1987 
RUNNING TIME: 102 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Los Angeles Times Sheila Benson
Such nourishing comedy. It satisfies every hunger, especially the irrational ones that seem to hit hardest at holidays: hunger for impetuous romance and for the reassuring warmth of family, for reckless abandon, and for knowing who we are and what we want. [16 Dec 1987]
100
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
In its warmth and in its enchantment, as well as in its laughs, this is the best comedy in a long time.
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100
Time Richard Corliss
The most beguiling romantic comedy this side of "Broadcast News." [11 Jan 1988]
100
Chicago Tribune Gene Siskel
Sold as a romance, but actually is one of the funniest pictures to come out in quite some time. [15 Jan 1988]
100
Washington Post Rita Kempley
A great big beautiful valentine of a movie, an intoxicating romantic comedy set beneath the biggest, brightest Christmas moon you ever saw. It's a monster moon, a Moby Dick of a moon, whose radiance fills the winter sky and every cranny of this joyous love story.
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90
The New Yorker Pauline Kael
Moonstruck isn't heartfelt; it's an honest contrivance – the mockery is a giddy homage to our desire for grand passion. With its special lushness, it's a rose-tinted black comedy. [25 Jan 1988, p.99]
90
Variety Staff (Not Credited)
Carried by snappy dialog and a wonderful ensemble full of familiar faces.
90
Newsweek David Ansen
A delightful surprise... Jewison does his best work in decades. [21 Dec 1987]
88
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Most of the acting is as real and warm as the characters themselves. And the streets, shops, and living rooms of Brooklyn have never seemed more inviting. [29 Jan 1988]
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
From the first stylized shot to the final comic resolution, Moonstruck is completely sui generis - hard to describe but easy to love.
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80
TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
Simply stated, it is difficult not to be swept up by this charming picture.
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80
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The broad Italian family humor gets so thick at times that you could cut it with a bread knife.
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75
USA Today Mike Clark
I enjoyed everything about Moonstruck except for its meandering mid-section. On cassette, with vino accompaniment, it may seem perfect. In theaters, with a diet drink, it still rates as the holiday sleeper. [18 Dec 1987]
70
Wall Street Journal Julie Salamon
[(Cher's) never been better. [5 Jan 1988, p.22(E)]
70
The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
The process whereby Loretta and Ronny fall in love is a lot less appealing than the large-family drama unfolding around the Castorinis' kitchen table. [16 Dec 1987, p.C22]
50
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
A corny, overblown romance, and while it eventually wins you over with its atmosphere and good nature, it's far from the masterpiece you've been hearing about. [15 Jan 1988]
50
The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
Two cheery notes: Nicolas Cage, as the erring brother, shows surprising signs of life, and Cher, as the erring fiancee, confounds those who swore she was a remote-control robot. [8 Feb 1988]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mario D gave it a10:
I could watch this movie again and again and again. One of the most charming ensemble casts I've ever seen. And one of the few films that really "gets" the Italian family right.

Jesse M gave it a9:
This is an outstanding, very funny, and surprisingly touching movie. Every character is very enjoyable, the relationships between them are believable, and the movie itself speaks truths that every person ought to hear.

Lance G. gave it a10:
Pat G. is right this is an absolutely delightful film, at once smart and funny. And the cast is perfection. I have this on my list of all-time greats.

Pat G. gave it a 10:
Just watched this again on DVD. It is a perfectly delightful film in every way! As far as I can see, it does not have one false note. A comic/romantic masterpiece.

Jackie R. gave it an 8:
Cinderella (Cher) dresses up from frumpy to fabulous with the love her Prince (Cage) not the most handsome man but definately most engaging, troubled, doe-eyed prince that every woman dreams of.

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