Cher And Nicolas Cage’s ‘Moonstruck’: A Timeless Tale of Life’s Unchosen Joys

Cher graced one of the most iconic movies of the late ‘70s with co-star Nicolas Cage, playing the lead roles of Loretta Castorini and Johnny Canmareri respectively in Moonstruck, a rather strange movie that won three Oscars and is now part of the Criterion Collection. The movie became a fan favorite because of its plot twists and the realization viewers get that situations change in life and sometimes the best things are not chosen by us.

Cher’s character, a Brooklyn widow in her late thirties, courts her causal partner, Johnny. Although she doesn’t love him, Loretta considers him “a sweet man” and that was enough for her to walk down the aisle with him.

The movie had a different title at first

Moonstruck was first titled The Bride and the Wolf when the script by John Patrick landed on director Norman Jewison’s desk. The director hated the name and termed it “one of the worst titles I have ever seen” in his memoir, This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me. He also called the script “dog-eared, coffee-stained, well-thumbed” when asking Patrick’s agent, Jeannine Edmunds, if anyone else had seen it.

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The romantic comedy had weird themes about death and wolves, plus a memorable scene where Nicolas’ character calls out to his lovestruck assistant, “Bring me the big knife! I’m gonna cut my throat,” and another plot twist where his fiancée gets in bed with his estranged brother, Ronny.

Nothing wrong with being a wolf

The bad blood between Ronny and Johnny starts when Johnny makes his brother look away while slicing bread, leading to the loss of his hand. Ronny’s lover leaves him after the incident and he never forgives Johnny for it. One of the popular lines in the movie involved a worked-up Ronny explaining his pain to Loretta. “I ain’t no freakin’ monument to justice!” he yelled; ironically, he was in fact, a walking monument of his pain.

Loretta starts to see herself as a bad person because of the true state of her heart towards life and Johnny. She admits to Ronny about her attraction to him, but also notes she is not willing to pursue anything romantically. “I can take hold of myself. I can say yes to some things, and no to other things that are going to ruin everything. Otherwise, what good is this stupid life?” she says.

The movie ends with a toast to family instead of a wedding, teaching viewers that romance is a choice but family comes first.