1.4.25 update: I re-watched Moonstruck last night, and my basic feeling was that as effective as the performances and John Patrick Shanley‘s screenplay are, parts of it are a little too broad and on-the-nose. It’s a good film, but it could’ve been better if director Norman Jewison had toned things down somewhat.

1.3.25: Cher’s bulls-eye Moonstruck performance landed a Best Actress Oscar in ’88, and good for her. But the real reason she won was because of (a) the film’s dead-perfect poster, (b) a single line of dialogue that she said to costar Nic Cage — “Snap out of it!”, (c) a back-and-forth between Cher and Olympia Dukakis — OD: “Do ya love him, Loretta?” / Cher: “Ma, I love him awful” / OD: “Oh, God, that’s too bad”, and (d) the fact that Moonstruck‘s ensemble cast was spot-on to the nth degree.

So it was a group effort, really. Cher, Cage, Norman Jewison, John Patrick Shanley, Vincent Gardenia, Danny Aiello…they all won it together.

That’s Rob Camilletti, Cher’s 22 year-old “bagel boy” boyfriend, reacting to her win.