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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1988)
Moonstruck Starring Cher and Nicolas Cage Directed By Norman Jewison Rated PC What could cure an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn of the disillusionment of growing old, lost love and love gone sour? A romantic moon, of course, which jump starts an Italian family with a surge of passion in Norman Jewison’s film “Moonstruck.” Cher plays Loretta, a thirty-seven year old widow who has been unlucky with men. The marriage of her parents, played by Olympia Gardenia and Vincent Dukakis, has lost a vital something, and Loretta’s father tries to run from old age by having an affair with a younger woman. Meanwhile, Loretta becomes engaged to Johnny Cammareri, who must return to Sicily to visit his dying mother. Johnny promises to marry Loretta once his mother has died. He also wants to resolve a family feud with his only brother, Ronny, and asks Loretta to serve as the go- between, inviting him to the wedding. Nicolas Cage plays this estranged younger brother, a passionate man who believes his life is over because his true love left him when he lost his hand in a bakery accident The family fall-out is a result of this accident which leaves Ronny blaming Johnny for all his misfortunes. Sound ridiculous? Loretta thinks so, and in trying to convince Ronny to attend her wedding she discovers his energy and vitality, things which had been missing from her life. After a sizzling night of passion, he begs her to attend a performance of “La Boheme” at the New York Metropolitan Opera House. In the meantime, Loretta’s mother goes to a restaurant alone, presumably because her husband is out cheating somewhere. There she meets an eccentric and unprincipled professor who answers her question of “Why do men chase women?” To add to the confusion, Loretta’s fiance returns from Sicily unexpectedly. Everyone involved slowly fills Loretta’s kitchen to finally decide who loves who and hnu; murh Cher in “Moonstruck” “Moonstruck” is a romantic comedy that focuses on the family, a very important part of Italian life. Indeed, some of the funniest scenes involve the relationships of the family, scenes which are humorous because they happen in most families. “Moonstruck” succeeds as a comedy because of the talent of the cast. Instead of oversensitizing the audience with sentimentality, director Norman Jewison goes overboard the other direction, saturating the film’s viewers with a comv and humorous <0-, ; IV y.Y THE MSC ALL NIGHT FAIR RND ORIGINAL NEW YOAK SELTZER - * 6 ' " s lira exposure to the Italian lifestyle. A very important theme is the opera “La Boheme,” written by Puccini. The film opens with a man putting a “La Boheme” poster in a glass display case at the Met. Ronny has the same posters in his apartment. Finally, Loretta’s realizes she loves Ronny as she weeps during the last act of the opera. In “La Boheme,” Rodolfo, a starving poet, falls in love with Mimi, a beautiful woman who is sick with tuberculosis. In one scene, their candles have blown out, and in the dark they search for Mimi’s key. Their hands touch and Rodolfo opens his famous aria with, “Your little hand is frozen. Won’t you let me warm it for you?” He sings, “Ma per fortuna-e una notte di luna, ” which loosely translates to, “fortunately for us, a night of the moon. ” Struck by the moonlight, and the passion of this poet, Mimi falls in love. She eventually dies though, just as the quiet, unfulfilled part of Loretta dies after she is warmed by Ronny’s love into a living, loving person. Review by Matthew Stewart Dana Cooper, vocals, acoustic and electric guitar,harmonica; Mark Millsap, bass; Drew White, drums. Morgenstern's, February 13. An audience of approximately 60 people was on hand Saturday night as folk- rocker Dana Cooper celebrated the release of his latest album, “Nuclear Family. ” Cooper’s performance featured several songs from that record, with some of his older material mixed in. The show was half acoustic, with Cooper performing solo on the acoustic guitar, and his band Nuclear Family joining in for the other half. The folk-oriented “King of Fools” opened the first acoustic set, as Cooper demonstrated his skillful brand of folk-rock music. He is a talented guitarist whose style shows definite country music influences that blend well with his rock technique. After Cooper performed five songs solo, bassist Mark Millsap f ■ ^ PRESENT BUNGLE JUNGLE FEBRUARY 20, 1988 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. MEMORIAL STUDENT CENTER Page 4/At Ease/Thursday, February 18,1988