Moonstruck

This week, we can't help but fall victim to la bella luna as Feb2ary Is For Lovers continues with a classic rom-com about how it's impossible not to cheat if you're Italian. It's 1987's Moonstruck, directed by Norman Jewison, written by John Patrick Shanley, and starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, Julie Bovasso and John Mahoney. The story of a young woman who accidentally falls in love with her fiancé's brother, the movie exudes charm at every turn -- so much so that this little rom-com took home three Oscars in '88, for Cher and Dukakis's performances as well as Original Screenplay for Shanley's script that is funny without being rife with straight-up jokes. There are rich characters here, beset by curses and fatal strains of bad luck, who get laughs not by mugging or ripping one-line zingers but by believing in the seriousness of their tragedies so completely. This is character-driven comedy of the highest order, grounded by the Canadian coziness that Jewison can't help but leave all over the film. Plus: J Mo's got theatrical field reports on both Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Companion. If you'd like to watch the film before listening along to our discussion, it is one of the more widely available films we have ever covered as Moonstruck is currently streaming in Canada on Amazon Prime, Crave, Starz, Criterion Channel, Tubi and Hoopla at the time of publication. Other works discussed in this episode include Abigail, The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, Identity, Trap, Fargo, The Wedding Singer, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning: Part One, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Ocean's Eleven, L.A. Story, Paint, Napoleon Dynamite, ChiefsAholic: A Wolf in Chiefs Clothing, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, The Fabelmans, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Bicentennial Man, Bottoms and Punch-Drunk Love. Love Month continues next week with another VHS plucked from Hayley's collection as we'll be discussing 1996's Jerry Maguire with Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger, and will do our best not to get side-tracked discussing the Mission: Impossible franchise but can't promise we won't. Jerry Maguire is currently streaming north of the border on Crave, Starz and for free (with ads) on the CTV app. And of course we're closing out February with a rom-com canon selection, 10 Things I Hate About You. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!