NoFace for Film

Title: Blue Moon
Year: 2000
Director: John A. Gallagher
Starring Cast: Ben Gazzara, Rita Moreno, Alanna Ubach, Brian Vincent
Rated: PG-13

NoFace Rating: 3 out of 7

I was up late this weekend channel surfing when I came upon this film. I had never heard of it until this past weekend, but that’s probably because I was living in Japan when it came out, and also because it’s not really a blockbuster film.

Frank (Gazzara) and Maggie (Moreno) have been married for about 30 years. Their adult children left the roost long ago, and they’ve just celebrated the baptism of their first grandchild. Frank has also recently retired, but like many men his age, he feels somewhat empty and lost as a result. Maggie knows that something is bothering Frank, but he refuses to talk about it, choosing to distance himself from her. They often argue, and become concerned that they are growing apart.

Meanwhile, in 1959, Mac (Vincent) plans to propose to his girlfriend Peggy (Ubach). He loves her dearly but is intimidated by her upper class family. Coming from two different worlds, Mac is from a large, boisterous, middle-class Italian American family. Peggy’s uptight, conservative family is from Spain; her father is an ambassador. Both Mac and Peggy wonder if they are really right for each other.

The two couples’ worlds magically collide in a lonely vacation home in the Catskills, when wishes are made on a blue moon night.

There’s actually more to the plot, a huge spoiler that I don’t want to mention. However, it’s pretty easy to guess what the spoiler is as you watch the scenes with each couple.

Overall, it’s a cute movie. It’s sweet and romantic, and it’ll leave you warm and fuzzy inside. However, it’s not something I would actually spend money renting, let alone have seen in theaters. As I mentioned, I happened to catch it late Saturday night, and it’s definitely got that “made-for-TV-movie” feeling to it. I was surprised to find that it was made only 6 years ago, because it felt like it was made in the mid-90s.

Gazzara and Moreno are definitely the better actors out of the foursome, being that they’re veterans in their craft. Ubach and Vincent were cute as a button together, but they didn’t have as much personality as their older counterparts. Ubach was very familiar to me, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I looked up her filmography on the IMDB and AHA! -the other movie I’ve seen her in was Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, playing one of the students. Vincent is someone I’ve never seen before, but he’s pretty cute so I hope to see him again

Like I said, this isn’t the type of movie I would actively seek out to rent. It’s kind of slow in the beginning, and it only starts to pick up in the middle during the couples’ fateful encounter. There are several funny moments, like when Mac and Peggy talk about meeting each other’s families for the first time. There are also tender, romantic moments near the end, but they’re so cheesy, they made me go, “blecch!” rather than “awwwwwwww!”.

Blue Moon is a cute movie, but don’t bother spending 3$ to rent this film. Just channel surf on a weekend and watch it if it happens to be on, and there’s nothing else to watch.

FUN FACT: Watch for a pre-Srcubs, pre-Garden State, pre-blog Zach Braff as Peggy’s snooty brother Fred.

Technorati Tags: Blue Moon, love, Rita Moreno, Ben Gazzara