I’ve seen Moonstruck, in part or in total, about two dozen times. Yet I still can’t quite understand why Johnny tells Loretta that he can’t marry her. His explanation is that his mother will die. But his mother recovered — got off her deathbed — right after he told her about his impending marriage. Why then does he conclude that marrying Loretta will cause his mother to die? There must be some logic there, but I can’t seem to find it.
Thank you, in advance, for answering my question!
Posted in: Exasperating, Uncategorized
Mostly Bright Ideas 
Amiable Amiable
May 27, 2010
You might have to go straight to the source: http://dannyaiello.com/ (“In time you will see that this is the best thing.”)
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bronxboy55
May 27, 2010
Are you trying to trick me into saying the next line?
I went to dannyaiello.com, but there’s no contact information. Maybe somebody will respond with the answer.
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Amiable Amiable
May 27, 2010
Any trickery can be attributed to la luna!
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bronxboy55
May 28, 2010
Mr. Paolino has nailed it! Can you see his answer? It’s the one right above this one, or right below. The one that seems to make sense.
By the way, when you sent your latest reply (last night), there was a full moon. Did you know? I was looking at it through our window, and my wife said that in that light I looked about twenty-five years old. Then she went back to watching “Mythbusters.”
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charlespaolino
May 27, 2010
There is an implication in the film that Johnny’s mother doesn’t want him to get married. He’s a mama’s boy, and she wants it that way. This relationship is not unknown among Italian mothers and sons. So Johnny got up the nerve to propose to Loretta because he knew his mother was dying and wouldn’t be around to run his life any more. In the climactic scene in the Casterinis’ kitchen, Johnny tells Loretta in so many words that he proposed to her in the first place only because he thought his mother was dying. You can read that exchange in the script at http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Moonstruck.html. You may also recall a telephone conversation in which Johnny, in Palermo, tells Loretta that he hasn’t broken the news of his engagement yet. Well, when he finally broke the news, his mother got out of bed, got dressed, and cooked a meal for everyone in the house. She got well out of spite, to make sure her son wouldn’t marry.
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bronxboy55
May 28, 2010
It seems so obvious now that you’ve explained it. Thank you! Thank you for answering my question!
One more thing. Will you come and live with us? I have at least thirty other movies I don’t understand.
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Amiable Amiable
May 28, 2010
I’m confused. Kidding – just had to throw in another quote. Bravo, Mr. Paolino!
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bronxboy55
May 28, 2010
Have you seen “Cinema Paradiso”? (The correct title is “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso.”) On our first trip to Sicily, I dragged my wife and our son to Palazzo Adriano to see where they had filmed some of the exterior shots for the film. Long, long ride by car from Erice, around winding mountain roads and looking for non-existent signs, only to arrive in the town and become yet another dim-witted tourist asking where the theater was. As it turned out, there was no theater. They had built it for the movie, then burned it down for the fire scene. (Well, how was I supposed to know?) (Really, how?)
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charlespaolino
May 28, 2010
“Moonstruck” is one of those movies that seems to be an inexhaustible topic for conversation. As you demonstrate, it’s also so quotable. My wife and kids are forever throwing “Moonstruck” lines into the conversation. It is tied with “It’s a Gift” as the family’s favorite movie of all time. My son literally knows every word of “It’s a Gift.”
Among the things we love about “Moonstruck” is the way the words and music from “La Boheme” are woven into the story. It obviously was carefully thought out.
One of the interesting characters in the film is Feodor Chaliapin, who played the grandfather. He was Russian, and his father is universally recognized as one of the greatest operatic singers and actors of the 20th century. The younger Chaliapin also appeared in “Stanley & Iris” with Robert De Niro.
“I’ll say no more!”
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bronxboy55
May 28, 2010
In our house, “Moonstruck” is tied with “The Princess Bride,” followed closely by “The Ringer,” “Holes,” “A League of Their Own,” “Galaxy Quest,” “Cool Runnings,” “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” and “Beetlejuice.” Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time one of us had an original thought.
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charlespaolino
May 28, 2010
Thanks for reminding me of “Cinema Paradiso.” I just put it on my Netflix list.
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Amiable Amiable
May 28, 2010
Bronxboy55, that story about trying to find the cinema is a “classic.” I would easily have done the same thing. In fact, I had been entertaining thoughts of visiting Savoca because my husband is so obsessed with The Godfather movies. Stop me now, if this is a bad idea! “Cinema Paradiso” is a wonderful movie. I have to suggest “Ladri di Biciclette,” which takes place in Rome. Here’s the link at imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/
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Charles Gulotta
May 28, 2010
Which parts were filmed in Savoca? That’s not too far from Catania, but don’t repeat my “Cinema Paradiso” mistake. One of the great mysteries to me is why they choose a certain location to shoot a movie, then completely change the way the place looks. Why don’t they just go someplace that looks like what they want?
I’m pretty sure one of the last scenes of The Godfather Part 3 was filmed at Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
“Ladri di Biciclette,” got it. I’ll look for it.
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kelly
February 18, 2015
johnny was a mamas boy..he needed a mommy. if his mother died, he wouldnt have a mother to take care of him. so he wanted to marry loretta so she would take care of him and take his mothers place. but when she recovered, he didnt need loretta and therefore could not marry her.
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Tom Luong
December 13, 2017
It’s mother son love. If he married, that would leave his mother without a son to love and she will deteriorate and die. The son will allow himself to sacrifice his own future to sustain and prolong his mothers life on Earth. At least that’s from my own perception. Usual to myself even but it could be a logical answer.
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Anonymous
February 1, 2024
Here’s another question: How could Ronnie have known that Johnny had returned, as he had no contact with him or any of his relatives in Sicily? When he arrives at Loretta’s house, that seems to have been the reason for his visit. Never understood that.
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