Moonstruck

Loretta, a widow and Brooklyn bookkeeper, agrees to marry Johnny after he proposes before leaving for Sicily. She insists on carefully following traditional wedding rites, believing that neglecting them contributed to her first husband's death. The moment sets the tone for a family-centered yet cautious path to matrimony.

Johnny asks Loretta to invite his estranged younger brother Ronny to the wedding; the brothers have not spoken in five years. Loretta agrees to extend the invitation, hoping to bridge the rift and bring the family together. The request introduces a complicated emotional dynamic into the upcoming ceremony.

Loretta informs Cosmo and Rose about the engagement. Cosmo dislikes Johnny and is hesitant to pay for a lavish wedding, while Rose suggests that true love can be painful but is ultimately worth pursuing. The family dynamics begin to color the wedding plans.

Loretta visits Ronny at his bakery and learns he has a wooden prosthetic hand from a bread-slicer accident; his fiancée left him after the injury. The encounter reveals Ronny's vulnerability beneath his rough exterior. The meeting plants the seed for a forbidden attraction.

Loretta and Ronny talk privately at his apartment; they share drinks and heated exchanges. Loretta accuses him of wanting to trap her, while he responds with a powerful kiss, and they end up in bed together. The affair complicates Loretta's sense of loyalty and duty.

That evening, Rose's brother Raymond and his wife Rita join the Castorini clan for dinner, and Raymond recalls a bright moon from Cosmo and Rose's courtship. Loretta wakes the next morning with guilt, knowing she has betrayed her fiancé. The family memory underscores how past romances linger.

Ronny pressures Loretta to attend La bohème at the Met as a condition for not pursuing further trysts. She agrees to go with him, seeking a sanctioned escape from her tangled feelings. The opera outing becomes a catalyst for self-reflection.

Loretta attends La bohème and is deeply moved by the performance. On leaving the opera, she confronts Cosmo, who appears with his mistress Mona and asks to keep their affair secret. The emotional fallout pushes Loretta toward renewed choices about her life with Ronny.

Rose dines alone and observes a college professor, Perry, being dumped by a student. Feeling sympathy, she invites him to dine with her and walks him home, choosing loyalty to her marriage over romantic possibilities. The scene deepens Rose's inner resolve.

Johnny unexpectedly returns from Sicily after his mother's apparent recovery and meets Rose at the Castorini house. The gathering touches on how men chase after women, framed as a reflection on fear and love within the family.

Returning home the next morning, Loretta learns Johnny may be there soon. Ronny arrives and Rose invites him to breakfast, while Grandpa and Cosmo join from upstairs. Rose pushes Cosmo to end his affair and, with Grandpa’s urging, Cosmo agrees to go to confession; the family members reaffirm their love for one another.

Raymond and Rita arrive, concerned that Loretta had not deposited the previous day's takings. They’re relieved to learn she merely forgot the deposit but still has the money, highlighting the family's practical concerns amid emotional drama.

Johnny arrives and abruptly breaks off the engagement, fearing that marrying Loretta would bring misfortune to his mother. Loretta berates him for breaking his promise, and in a pivotal moment, Ronny borrows the engagement ring and asks Loretta to marry him; she accepts. The scene pivots the path from old commitments to new possibilities.

The family toasts the couple with champagne, celebrating Loretta and Ronny's engagement. Johnny joins in the toast at Grandpa's urging, signaling that he will now be part of the evolving family unit despite the broken engagement. The moment seals the new arrangement within the Castorini clan.

Loretta and Ronny commit to a life together, embracing their romance and the blended family they are creating. The final note emphasizes resilience, love, and the acceptance of a nontraditional path toward a future as a reunited, supportive household.