My first apartment — rented when I moved off-campus after my sophomore year of college — was not in New York City. It was in Yonkers, a city often (wrongly) assumed to be part of NYC, probably because of Neil Simon. It is true that if I walked out of my apartment on McLean Avenue and crossed the street, I’d officially be in the Bronx, but my heart knew I was technically in Westchester County. It wasn’t until I finished school a couple of years later that I finally got myself to Brooklyn. My dad, who lived on the Upper East Side and on Staten Island when I was a kid, had moved back to Manhattan by then. Aside from Coney Island, Brooklyn was still mostly uncharted territory for me. A couple of my brothers were living in Cobble Hill, and I’d visited each of their apartments exactly once before deciding I wanted to live in the same neighborhood. If I’m being honest, there was one particular thing about the house on Henry Street I wound up moving into that really got me excited: It was a block and a half away from Cammareri Bros., the bakery for which Nicolas Cage and Danny Aiello’s characters in Norman Jewison’s Moonstruck (Ronny and Johnny Cammareri, of course) are named and in the basement oven-room of which Cher first meets her “wolf without a foot.”
(“Now” photo via Google Earth)
Yes, Cammareri Bros. was a real bakery! It closed down soon after I moved to the neighborhood and later reopened in a different location, and the space (along with its next door neighbor, formerly the Little Chatter Box Beauty Salon) has since been occupied by a series of cafés, currently Maybelle’s, who, it’s worth mentioning, make a mean tofu scramble and an even meaner iced coffee. Both the interior and exterior are still pretty much the same as in the Cammareri days, and a portion of the old bakery sign is displayed inside. If you go, make sure you look at the floor when you first walk in — an inlay of the letters “NC” (for Nicolo Cammareri, who opened the bakery in 1921) remain in the old terrazzo floor.
EDIT: While checking on the spelling of his name, I came across Nicolo Cammareri’s 1940 US Census record. Pretty neat, right? 206 Sackett is the address of the side entrance, which leads to the apartments above. Also interesting that he had a daughter named Grace — there was an elderly Italian woman on my block named Grace. She used to sign for packages for me when I was at work, and she had a Frank Sinatra shrine in her apartment. She passed away around 2000. If she was born in 1915 like the census record indicates, that would have put her in her mid-80s when I lived there. I wonder if she was Nicolo Cammareri’s daughter! Further investigation needed…
The first time I saw Moonstruck was 25 years ago, with my mother, in a movie theater in Kingston. I was 12 years old. I remember loving it, naturally, but I mostly remember the specifics of the night because my mother’s car got a flat tire when we were driving back to Rhinebeck after the movie. Another thing that sticks in my mind from that first viewing is the breakfast Olympia Dukakis prepared:
I had never seen anything like that before, but it looked so delicious. I asked my mother to recreate the dish at home, and up until I stopped eating eggs a few years ago, it remained a breakfast favorite for me. For all these years I’d assumed it was an Italian dish, but Googling tells me it’s usually either called “eggs in a hole” or “eggs in a basket,” and everyone everywhere knows what it is — except for Swedes and Jews, apparently, because I’m quite sure it would never have been a part of my life without that scene in Moonstruck. (As an aside, I see that V.K.Rees has come up with a recipe for vegan-friendly eggless eggs in a basket, which I will definitely have to try out ASAP.)
In the years since that first viewing, I’d guess I’ve seen Moonstruck at least 30 times in part or full. Beyond its Brooklyn-ness, it’s just a fantastic movie. I’m sure I don’t need to convince you of that, though, because pretty much every human alive has seen it. (And if for some crazy reason you haven’t, it’s on HBO GO right now. You can also rent it from Amazon Instant. It’s not on Netflix, of course, because nothing you want to watch is ever on Netflix.) Aside from Cher’s old face and Nicolas Cage’s old hairline, I’ve always had this fixation with the kitchen in the Castorini family house — which, if you ever want to take a Moonstruck walking tour, is located at 19 Cranberry Street in Brooklyn Heights, about a mile from formerly-Cammareri’s. For years I’ve carried around a mental picture of its soft green hues, vintage subway tiles and the overall feeling of a family gathering place. Today I decided to watch the movie again specifically for the kitchen, and to finally take some screen captures.
Two things I noticed for the first time when I was taking the screen captures were the painted-over cabinet hardware and the laminate countertops, neither of which are hallmarks of gorgeous vintage kitchens, but are indicative of the fact that this movie was filmed in an actual family home, and not on a set built for a movie. The same goes for that flocked vinyl tablecloth on the kitchen table. I guess I just overlooked that stuff the first 29 times I watched the movie! Regardless, the kitchen is beautiful, and it’s full of life. And that tile!! Ahhh, the tile. It doesn’t come through in the captures, but it’s covered with cracks and crazing. 19 Cranberry was built in 1829 so it’s not original to the house (tiled kitchens didn’t become standard until the Victorian era), but it’s clearly very old. The house sold in 2008 for nearly $4 million, and thankfully the listing photos don’t show the kitchen — I don’t think I could bear to find out if it had been gutted.
(Or you know, to discover the whole thing was actually shot on a soundstage in Toronto. Shhhhhh.)
Meanwhile, back at Cammareri Bros.…
In the movie, Ronny’s apartment is above the bakery. The entrance was on the Sackett Street side of the building, to the right of the stairs that led to the basement ovens. I’m almost positive that’s where the apartment interior was actually filmed. I have a distant memory of a friend who used to live in the neighborhood telling me so. Judging by the position of the windows and the color of the façades visible across the street, I’m guessing it’s on the second floor of the building, with the living room facing Henry Street. In any case, this is pretty much exactly what a classic pre-war Brooklyn apartment has always looked like in my mind. Ironically, the closest I’ve ever come to finding a rental apartment in this kind of vintage condition was my first place in Yonkers! I love the beadboard, the pressed-tin in the kitchen and the moldings on the walls. And that old refrigerator with its non-safety handle, just waiting to trap small children inside when it gets put out for trash…sigh. Also, I don’t know if this is intentional, but I love that the color of the Vespa (used for storing books!) is the same as the cabinets in the Castorini kitchen.
I wonder who lives in this apartment now, and if it still looks like this. I hope so. Yesterday I stood outside the entrance for a little while, waiting to see if anyone would come out. Not that I would’ve said anything to them, but you know…just to see. Now that I live in the neighborhood again, I can do all the Moonstruck-stalking I want.
84 Comments
Oh man I used to eat at that cafe (naidres/maybelles/whatever) all the time when I lived on Henry St.! I had no idea it used to be THE cammareri bros! I always wondered what the NC on the floor stood for. Thanks for sharing that bit of Henry St. history!
Eva, did you ever notice the difference in flooring between the two sides of the cafe? The terrazzo by the entrance/counter is where the bakery was, and the green and white mosaic tiles belonged to the beauty salon. I’m so glad none of the many post-Cammareri occupants have ripped out the flooring.
I’m Jewish and grew up on toad in the hole, but – to be fair – my mom was raised in an Irish Catholic household. In New York, actually.
The toad is such a favorite of mine that I have often joked/kinda seriously about opening a café with several varieties anchoring the menu. I’d tell you the name I thought of for it but it’s reeeeeally good, so I don’t want anyone taking it, okay? Because I might actually open my toad in the hole spot someday. Maybe! It could happen…
GO FOR IT! I used to say I wanted to open a fancy sit-down restaurant with nothing on the menu but different kinds of popcorn.
(I thought “toad in the hole” was a baked casserole thing with sausages in it??)
Great movie! But also flawed. One glaring example: Cher did everything she could to avoid tasting, much less consume, that beautiful breakfast. She looks at it with suspicion, smells it like it’s probably contaminated, like it was thrown in front of her by some stranger, then dumps salt on it like she’s building a cow-lick. Then, finally, she’s saved by the bell (the phone rings; it’s Ronny). Meanwhile her (tainted?) breakfast is getting colder and colder.
So, what does she do after ending the call from Ronny in Italy? Well, she certainly didn’t sit back down to enjoy those gorgeous eggs-in-a-basket. No, she decides instead to make another call, a call that could have easily waited until afterwards. Anything to avoid that breakfast.
And Olympia Dukakis wasn’t doing much better; she (also) never touched her plate – although her reaction to Cher’s plate-smelling was classic – in the genre of silent films, that is. Because it wasn’t in the script, the plate-smelling – no, it was the inspiration of the performing diva. And for “good” reason the diva-director left it in.
Now don’t get me wrong; I love Cher! But there are limits; I would have cut the plate-smelling, had her take a bite, and skip the extraneous phone call – instead of leaving us with a forced and flawed scene.
Hmmm, I think that was likely intentional. No matter how much an Italian family (stereotypically) sets life around a meal, sometimes one’s appetite is overtaken by emotion.
Hi, David.
In movie making you are not allowed to actually EAT the food.
Unless, eating is part of the actual script and they prepare more than one dish of the same foods, like having a cook on site to make a number of the same dishes.
Reason: Continuity purposes. Unless it is going to be a one-take scene if you eat something and then a “cut” and do over, that food will not look the same. It would be easily noticed and look like silly to eagle eyes that always spot such irregularities.
And, remember, what if Cher spilled some of the egg on her costume?
Delays in shooting schedule are costly with all the behind-the-scenes people hanging around doing their things.
Multiple retakes are costly.
Remember, eating breakfast is not essential to the story.
It is just what is called “local color” to show ‘how’ an Italian family interacts in the kitchen or other rooms in the story script.
Calling Ronny was important to the storyline.
Johnny asks her to call brother Ronnie due to 5 years of bad blood,
She agrees but forgets.
On the phone from Sicily he asks her if she called Ronnie.
She says she forgot.
He reminds her to call now.
She agrees.
Then, she looks for the card with the phone number in her bag; lucky she did not throw it away.
She’s preoccupied about the phone call – not eating eggs.
She calls and learns that Ronnie is an “animal” setting in motion the reason for her to GO to the bakery to see this “animal” whom she will later fall in love with and allow him to take her to bed and make love to her.
The story is about the real love story between Loretta and Ronnie – not the big baby older brother Mr. Johnny who takes back his marriage proposal.
Get it?
love this post. that movie. Cher! and of course, “egg in the nest”
Jews and swedes?? Where did you come up with that stupidity
That was a joke, J. I have a Swedish mother and a Jewish father.
Clearly not a regular reader. I thought it was funny Anna. I also had never heard of this until a few years ago. That person called it “toad in a hole”.
I love that movie, especially the kitchen! I imagine that’s the kitchen that they ripped out of my bungalow when they installed the lovely Eisenhower/Kennedy era kitchen we have now. Not sure if my dad’s English/Boston Irish family was familiar, but in my mom’s Brooklyn German family, eggs-in-the-hole were a common weekend breakfast. Loved them growing up! btw “egg-eyes” are another name for them
Maybe my father just never let on about this culinary treat! He insists he’d never had macaroni and cheese until he was in his mid-70s, so who knows what my grandmother was cooking, hahaha.
wow, i just discovered your blog, and what better way to draw me in than a good moonstruck post! i absolutely adore this movie and have seen it more times than i can count. my italian-american family is similar to loretta’s, and i even grew up eating my eggs like that! gotta love a great, worn-in kitchen like that. 🙂
LOVE THAT MOVIE!!! I never realized it was based on real Brooklyn locations/families, so thanks for the info.
Unfortunately, though, Hollywood could never, ever fit all the necessary equipment for filming an interior into even a roomy upstairs apartment.
What usually happens is that the set designers take measurements and vast amounts of pictures of the desired locations, then re-create them with moveable walls on a sound stage somewhere. The characters are in the “kitchen” and we can see three walls around them –but the fourth wall and ceiling are open for the cameras, cables, lights, sound booms, and all the other stuff necessary for film.
Either way, those interiors are so right.
I know quite a few people whose houses and apartments have been used in movies! Not everything is filmed on sound stages. 😉
It’s not uncommon to see movies and TV shows being made inside of people’s apartments in NYC, actually. They usually do it at night, so you can see the light flooding out onto the street with all the equipment, actors and other people inside and trailers and craft services outside. I guess they find a way to make it work when they want a specific interior on a certain budget.
love this- thanks for a really great window into this film- going to check out hbo-to-go after my weekend chores are finished!
L is correct, this is a movie set, not a real kitchen.
Nothing in a big Hollywood movie is by accident. If there are laminate countertops in a kitchen scene, it is exactly because that’s what the director and set designer want you to see. These two kitchens are appropriate to the characters who inhabit them. Every last detail in each shot is intentional.
Moonstruck interiors were shot on a soundstage in director Norman Jewison’s hometown of Toronto.
http://articles.latimes.com/1987-03-01/entertainment/ca-6676_1_filming-crazy-love-stories
http://torontoist.com/2011/07/reel_toronto_cinematic_classic_grab-bag/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093565/locations
Oh, I don’t question at all whether soundstages were used for Moonstruck! This is not a shock to me. 😉 I’m only making a case for Ronny’s apartment having been filmed on location because (a) I’m pretty sure the actual apartment belonged to a friend of a friend of mine — I can check on that later today, though, and (b) the window positioning matches up perfectly with the exerior windows…and I can see the actual buildings that are on the other side of the street through those windows.
I can state with almost 100% confidence that the bakery scenes were indeed filmed on location inside of Cammareri’s (and in their oven room). Their real-life bakers at the time were used in the oven scene (including Gilberto Godoy, who was the acting owner/baker at Cammareri’s at the time), in fact, as were a number of Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill locals. It’s hard for me to believe they would have transported non-actors/extras from Brooklyn to Toronto! I guess it’s possible, but it seems very unlikely — especially since there are so many people in the neighborhood who have stories about watching the filming inside of the bakery. Ronny and Johnny’s last name was changed from the original script to Cammareri because it was already printed on all of the bags, signs, etc. inside and outside of the bakery.
Here’s an article about the filming at the bakery, which notes that Jewison chose Cammareri in part because of its non-modernized, coal-burning ovens:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_AwqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jtMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1335%2C6402325
This might be my favorite blog post ever. I lurve Moonstruck and, along with my family, have adored the movie’s interiors, that breakfast, and of course, young Nick Cage (although he’s arguably cuter in Valley Girl where his teeth are still jacked and not movie star-like). I actually was always drawn to Ronnie’s bathroom. Need to rewatch to see if that memory stands.
Wait, now I can’t remember the bathroom!! I have to watch it again now, haha.
I hate movie-star teeth. I was just saying to a friend the other night that the ’70s marked the end of normal teeth in American movies.
What a great post, Moonstruck has always been one of my favorite movies!
Actually, you wrote:
“Two things I noticed for the first time when I was taking the screen captures were the painted-over cabinet hardware and the laminate countertops, neither of which are hallmarks of gorgeous vintage kitchens, but are indicative of the fact that this movie was filmed in an actual family home, and not on a set built for a movie.”
The kitchen, lovely as it is, is a set.
http://www.filmography.ca/seasonthree/moonstruck.html
With his cast in place, Norman Jewison finally began looking for locations to shoot Moonstruck. Of course the exteriors had to be shot in New York, where the streets of the Brooklyn were almost a character unto themselves…. but the indoor scenes, that was another story. In January of 1987 Jewison started shooting the six weeks of interiors in his hometown of Toronto. The soundstage was constructed in the old Wrigley warehouse on Carlaw Street.
I’m really, really not purporting to be an expert about this film, CLF — this is just a post about my relationship to the movie.
Like I said in my last reply to you, I’m only making case for the interior of the bakery building (with Ronny’s apartment above) being filmed on location because of personal experience with people who lived in that area during the time of filming and appeared in the movie as extras. That’s not the same building as the Castorini kitchen with the painted-over hardware. They’re about a mile — and two neighborhoods — apart. I am quite certain that there were at least a couple of interiors were filmed on location, unless you think the interior of the Met was recreated in Toronto…
Maybe we can move on? I appreciate your Googling skills, but I’m not sure this really matters one way or another in the context of my post.
Ignoring my own suggestion to move on…
For whatever it’s worth, the DVD commentary track states that most of the interior scenes at the Castorini house were indeed filmed on location at 19 Cranberry. In a behind the scenes documentary on the DVD, there are shots in which you can clearly see the whole crew/equipment crammed into the kitchen (which has four walls), followed by a comment from the production designer that the house was chosen in part because of the scale of the kitchen.
Ps that still of Olympia Dukakis sitting at the table pretty much captures her character to a tee.
We always called it “bird’s nest toast.” Thanks for all the great blog posts lately!
“Old man, you give those dogs another piece of my food and I am gonna kick you till your dead”
My favorite movie of all time. When I miss my family and youth I watch this movie and it just makes me laugh and cry. Oh the kitchen, so like my Nona/Grandma’s, and the family, yeah we’re there!
Nick Cage as Ronny C. – Stunning. Cher as Loretta, spitting image of my youthful Ma, Stunning!
Anna, I have never commented on your blog before, Its the BEST one out there, and this post is just the icing on the cake. Thank you so much. Ciao Bella
Thanks, Scott! Glad this post brought you out of your silence. 😉
That Olympia Dukakis line might be the best thing in the whole movie. She’s SO great!!
My comment has nothing to do with this post 🙂
I randomly found your blog last week and you’re my favourite already! Especially before and after pictures from House and the way how you have ability to make everything look beautiful, eventually. You are really inspiring (photos and also the way you write) and you just got a new reader from Finland!
Greetings from Helsinki!
Minna
p.s. It is also exciting to read/see there is so many Finnish things you like, Marimekko, Moomins, did you mention Artek somewhere, and so on. I like them too!!
Hi, Minna! Welcome! 🙂
Oh I love Moonstruck! So glad you reminded me of that movie, I need to watch it again. And wasn´t Cher beautiful with her “old face”…
Also, funny about the eggs in a basket thingy. I am from Germany and as a child I had an American friend whose mother used to serve this for breakfast! So this was always my idea of an “American breakfast” 🙂
” It’s not on Netflix, of course, because nothing you want to watch is ever on Netflix.”
Ain’t that the truth, Ruth?
Moonstruck is one of my favorites and I also have such a vivid memory of my first viewing. It was at this theater> when it was still an actual movie theater. Now it’s just a cheap concert and bad comedy venue. I saw it with my mother and sister as we all loved Cher. What a great movie! I generally prefer movies where someone dies at the end, but this was so uplifting.
Years later, now I love the movie for all the aesthetic qualities. As a filmmaker — and mainly production designer — the attention to detail in the clothes, the props, the sets makes me truly envious. What a terrific job!
I also LOVE Moonstruck and have watched it just as many times!
Love it when she gets her dress and her hair done, Ha!
And yes – that kitchen! the built-ins, that tile, the size of it! I also loved the professor’s utter surprise when he finds out that Loretta’s mother lives in that huge house in the middle of manhattan! Something so real about the fact that immigrants came, they saved up to buy a house, stay in it for generations until one day its worth a thousand times what they paid for it. Such a charming movie overall…
The house is in Brooklyn, not Manhattan. 😉
Ok, I have to watch this movie now. I’ve never seen it.
(Netflix – lilihammer was really good!)
Love your site, it’s one I always come back to.
I just looked up Lilyhammer. What crazy casting for a show set in Norway! I love Steven Van Zandt, though, so I’ll give it a try. 🙂
You so rock for this post. I used to watch Moonstruck when I was a kid… as a young Italian kid growing up in California, Moonstruck was one of those movies that told me everything I needed to know about the East Coast lol… I had actually forgotten about this movie… I think I will go rent it on Amazon. Thanks for the reminder!
My word, I love that movie SO much. When I found out my husband had never seen it, I sat him down and made him watch it. He thought it was going to be awful and I’m happy to report he has never felt more wrong in his life…
I made my husband watch Tuff Turf under similar circumstances, but I can’t say the outcome was the same, hahahah…
I loooooove this post!
That brass outlet cover in the pic with OD sitting in front of the sink. Swoonworthy.
Oh man, Nicolas Cage was such an uber babe back in the day. I need to watch Valley Girl again…
We call that egg toast combo a one eyed jack. It’s a Texas thing!
La Luna, La Luna, Guarda La Luna . . . cue in howling dogs!!! I so love you for writing a post about Moonstruck! This movie has resonated with me from the very beginning and I think you know why! I mean, my father wears a three piece suit to do yard work, that’s how Italian I am! It’s awful whenever someone brings this movie up because I can go on and on, reciting lines verbatim until someone slaps me in the face alla Cher and screams out, “SNAP OUT OF IT”
xo
Anna, I love you even more now after reading this post, (I realize I don’t even know you, but this makes me think even more highly of you) Moonstruck is my all time favorite movie, and I always LOVED the home shots and neighborhood “feeling” that the movie portrayed! What a wonderful thing to be able to check out all the places in person and research some of the history! I totally want to do a Moonstruck tour in conjunction with the family history tour!!!! Aloha~
First time reading your blog and I loved your post about Moonstruck. Can you believe I had never seen that movie! I immediately rented it after reading your post and I loved it! I think I will now become a regular reader of your blog 🙂
Are we the same person? Every post you write rings truer and truer with me! Thanks for this great post on a wonderful movie. It’s been on my top 10 since also seeing it 20+ years ago.
I watched Moonstruck last night due to reading this post, I can’t believe I had never seen it! It was SO great. While I don’t have the New York associations with it that you do, I also loved the house and the little homey details. Thanks for always writing such interesting posts!
I also wanted to comment because I never have, and I decided a while back to de-lurk from all of my favourite blogs, and thank you guys for doing what you do! (I wrote a similar post on Daniel’s blog today too :P)
I want you to know how much your blog and advice has meant to me. I think about the amazing posts, tips, colours, and general design choices you make ALL the time when I have been designing my new space. You, Manhattan Nest, Little Green Notebook and Emily Henderson are all my absolute favourite design blogs, yours especially for your choice in wall colours (my kitchen is now Deep Space!), and the way you make modernism look so fresh and comfortable, but chic! So, thank you for writing your blog, I hope you never stop, because I am so excited whenever a new post comes up 🙂
Marita, thank you SO much for leaving this comment, really. You just made my day. <3
I love this post. I’ve seen that movie several times. If I lived in the area I’d totally do some moonstruck stalking myself.
I hope you got permission to use those movie stills, Anna?
Failing that, credits on each of them wouldn’t go amiss.
Especially important now that you’re making money from your blog.
T
Hi Terry,
These are screen shots (taken by me on my computer while watching the movie — command-shift-3/4 if you’re using a Mac), not stills. A still is a photograph taken on the set of a movie during filming, not a capture or frame enlargement of the completed film — just so we have our terminology straight. For what it’s worth, though, the majority of actual film stills are published without copyright (or credit, for that matter) and are in the public domain. That’s neither here nor there, though, since these are not stills. As far as credits not going amiss, I believe I’ve credited both the name of the film and its director within the context of the post. I’ve also provided several legal options for viewing the full movie through paid services.
The question of whether a small number of low-resolution screen captures of movies fall under fair use guidelines when used in this type of context has been discussed on this blog before and on countless others. I can find no real world examples of movie studios objecting to this type of use. Here’s some reading material for you if you’re not familiar with the four factors of fair use guidelines, which are by all accounts more than a little vague and absolutely subjective, but still worth being aware of:
http://lifehacker.com/193343/ask-the-law-geek–is-publishing-screenshots-fair-use
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Non-free_film_screenshot
http://publishing.wsu.edu/copyright/fair_use/
http://www.badmovies.org/sideshows/articles/fair-use.html
Again, the key is that I’ve used a small number of web-resolution screen shots representing a small percentage of the original work (8 frames from a 102-minute movie) for critical discussion of the film and its contents, while not diminishing the market for the original work.
Thanks for your concern, though!
Oh man, I had forgotten all about cooking eggs in bread like that. My mom used to make that for special breakfasts when I was a kid. I’m Swedish, but i think my mom learned it while au-pairing in Britain in the 70s.
Eggy in a basket! SO GOOD.
Totally unrelated but…makeup storage update please!!!
Ordered Nomess Copenhagen box and returned it. Too big (I know, I know, should have measured first…but I got excited) and clunky….though, still kinda cute. What to do now…?
Argh, really?! I still haven’t ordered one because I’m too lazy to measure. :\
I adore this movie! Reminds me that I need to watch it again. I’ve always loved that kitchen, too. Thanks for the post. It was so fun to hear all the little tidbits you’ve picked up from living nearby.
This movie is one of my favorites! Even though I haven’t seen it in a long time, I still randomly bust out with “La Luna!” in my best Italian accent every now and again (no one ever gets it *sad face*). Your post prompted me to rent it tonight – thank you!
I never read blog comments for a good reason and I made the mistake of reading these because I wanted to see how many people loved the movie as much as me (and you). You must have a lot of patience and a great sense of humor to be able to respond with such grace to so many people feeling the need to tell you you’re wrong when you are not. Love your blog and I love how you deal with criticism. I should take lessons.
Believe me, the first reply I write (and don’t publish) to certain comments is usually not one that could be described as “graceful.” 😉 I must say, though, that nearly all of the comments I receive here are considerate and thoughtful, even when someone disagrees with me or wants to share another point of view. I have no idea why this of all posts stirred up some (minor) controversy, but it could definitely be worse! All in all, I really love reading comments and getting into discussions with people who have something to contribute. I don’t like blogging to be one-sided.
I agree with Jennifer, I think you are very gracious & patient! I watched this movie based on this blog post, it’s available on Netflix in Ireland, I just loved it so much! I could actually relate to some of it and I was just howling with laughter! Your life is going down the toilet! Ha ha, oh dear, I shouldn’t be laughing. I want to watch it again this weekend.
I remember watching this movie in middle school and seeing that egg in the hole scene. I thought it was an amazing idea! I tried to recreate it with white toast but it didn’t turn out like the movie. 🙁 It’s great to know that scene was memorable for some else too!
I love love love Moonstruck. I don’t know what it is about that movie but I have seen it so many times and I can still watch it over and over. You are not alone in your love for this film. Each character is hilarious and I just love that scene when her dad tells Johnny to keep his eyes open… and Johnny’s so clueless! I laugh every time. The acting, the script… the scenery… I love this film!
Thank you so much for this post. Before I’d even seen Moonstruck, in the 1980s, my little sister was making the eggs in the toast dish, which she learned at school in Home Ec.. A couple of years ago I re-watched this film and was so taken by the egg scene since I remembered my sister making those. Well, blow me away, last fall I was reading Diary of a Mad Housewife, which takes place in NYC (and made into a film in the ’70s with Carrie Snodgrass and Frank Langella) and the narrator, Tina, mentions that her husband is making these for dinner (as she forgot to order food from the deli) and she calls them ‘Sunshines’. I nearly jumped for joy – thanks to this book I now know what theses are called! (Diary of a Mad Housewife is such a great book for a snapshot what it was like for a women living in NYC in the 70s.)
Grace Cammareri IS my husband’s grandmother, daughter of Nicolo Cammereri. She worked in the bakery when she was in her teens. She taught me how to make cannoli. Her father would smoke when the bread was baking. By the time he put his cigarette out, the loaves of bread were finished.
Rainy! You have no idea how happy it makes me to see this comment. 🙂
I was in NYC for the first time in November 1989…I took a cab and landed just in front of the Camarieri home,in 19 Cramberry ST. I stood just in front of the house entrance as if somehow expecting to see that wonderfull family again…Cosmo,Loretta,Ross and Perry Castorini and his doggies.The Cammareri brothers invited too…
lost my family in1975…guess Ive been kind of looking for a new one since then or something.
What a crack I am…thanks a big lot for the post Anna.
I am a Moonstruck Addict. Own the VHS, 2 DVDs, know the entire movie by heart… I live in San Francisco and am coming to NYC for the first time in my 57 yr old life, I know… Anyway, is there a MOONSTRUCK tour I can take!??? I checked 6-7 years ago and found one, but I think it’s fallen into obscurity.
Thanks.
I don’t know, Nancy, but that sure sounds like fun! 🙂
Anna,
A little late to the party, but had to comment and let you know how wonderful your post (and all the comments!) is…like many here, I saw this film in the theatre with my Mother in the late 80’s when I was in middle school/junior high. I have seen it multiple times (honestly, probably 100+) and could recite every line. (I just love that Olympia’s first line is “Who’s dead?” – too funny!)
I’ve been to NYC lately and have visited some of the locations including 19 Cranberry and the (former) Grande Ticino in the West Village, now Cafe Cluny. Do you know anything about the interiors of The Grande Ticino scenes with Cher/Danny and then Olympic/John? I wonder if the interiors were shot there?
My next time to NYC, I will make the trip to the former Cammareri Bros. bakery to see the floor and the “NC” in the tile.
I know you’ve listened to the DVD commentary by the cast — to think that Nick Cage wasn’t the first choice!! But Cher put her foot down and wouldn’t do the film without “Nicky” — what an incredible story!
I love this film more and more and discovering it’s real-life charms has been a fun experience — thanks for helping me piece it together decades after my first screening.
Hi Stefania! Glad you liked the post. 🙂 To answer your question about the Grande Ticino, I believe the interior scenes were shot on a sound stage in Toronto.
Sadly, Maybelle’s is now closed, so at the moment you can’t get into the bakery. I’m sure something else will open in that spot soon—and hopefully they’ll keep as much intact as possible, including the inlaid floor.
Thank you for getting back to me, Anna! And, for the heads-up on Maybelle’s….certainly saves me some time later this month! I will keep my eyes peeled on the address to see what comes into the space next … with fingers crossed they don’t tear out the original floor! Best, S
What does johnny say when Cher asks him ..where’s the met?
Well, I’m only two years late for the Moonstruck party but I’m glad you’re still around Anna…definitely my favorite movie and just watched it again tonight. I was searching for information about the three Italian medallions hanging on the kitchen door frame when I found your blog…Any idea what those are called and if the set designers simply found them in an antique shop?
John, how funny—I was just looking at this post because I watched it again tonight, too! Hahaha.
You wouldn’t happen to have a screen capture of the medallions you’re referring to, do you? I can’t recall what they look like, but if you have a picture, I know someone who might be able to help.
One of my favorite lines is when the grandfather (was he called Pops) says, “Someone tell a joke.”
A great piece as I am watching Moonstruck now…….also for the 30th time… I want Johnnie’s apartment and that kitchen on Cranberry Street………my dream home…………… Thanks for this great piece..
Thank you for tbis lovely story. Today my hubby and I watching Moonstruck for the umpteenth time wondered the exact local. The search brought me to you…Blessings✌
Ok so I’ve seen it at least 50 times and am actually watching it now for the 51st and googling info on the movie. I came across this blog and read each comment. This is my #1 favorite movie of all time and I always see or hear something new every time! Its flawless, inspiring and as an opera singer, speaks straight to my heart…”You love him Loretta?” ” Yeah Ma, I love him awful…” “Oh that’s too bad…” OD has the best lines ever!!! And the dogs! “Old man…” Truly brilliant from start to finish…
I’m watching Moonstruck right now. There is everything in the world to love in this movie. I love Cher’s magical transformation from spinster to the raven haired red velvet Cinderella from Brooklyn Heights. Yes! The kitchen is marvelous, and since I grew up on the ” egg in a hole”, I had an immediate emotional connection. Something about that house, and Cosmo’s moon, leaves you longing to stay there, and the movie never end. Few films can do that. This one did for me. The little Sweetheart liquor store, and the cafe where Cosmo gives his girlfriend the bracelet, the neighborhood restaurant where Mrs Castarini has minestrone with Frazier’s pop, all such important parts of the film. Brooklyn Heights and all of the locations really made this movie. It never gets old.
Great blog! One of my favorite movies of all time- my family is Philadelphia Italian, but this movie makes me feel like I’m at home. And my favorite scenes are in the kitchen too! It’s my dream kitchen- I live in an old house with an original 1950’s kitchen, so I try to make it look as much like that one as I can- friendly and lived -in. I also love the toad in the hole- I make it a lot- mostly because of this movie! Who knew there were so many others who felt the same- we’re “Moonstruckers!” 😀
I used to love Cammareri Bros — I’d get their small loaf of pepperoni bread, then eat it all up while watching a movie at the Cobble Hill Cinema. That was a treat!
No one mentions the Opera. This movie turned on so many young people to Opera and I believe it may saved the art form! After the movie was released, the Opera season saw a higher than normal interest by people who never attended the Opera before. I was one of those people! I was 31 years old and attended my first Opera. Fortunately, they were performing La Boheme! How timely!
I am now 66 years old and am a lifelong Opera fan since Moonstruck came on the scene. Without Moonstruck, I am not sure if I would have been curious about Opera. That movie did the trick!
Funny that no one mentions the Opera. Yet everyone talks about the eggs. (we always called them “bulls-eyes.”)