Moonstruck (1987) with Critic Jen Johans

03/31/24 • 102 min

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

For this episode, I’m thrilled to welcome Jen Johans, award-winning writer, film critics, essayist and historian, and host of the excellent Watch With Jen podcast. Now, that has really good guests, but Jen must be short for Jenerous because she always gives her guests more of the floor than she uses herself, so I thought it’d be perfect to invite her to record a solo commentary, and choose any film she wanted, and I’m super excited she chose Norman Jewison's timeless 1987 romantic comedy-drama Moonstruck, starring Cher and Olympia Dukakis – both of whom won Oscars for their performances – Nicolas Cage and Danny Aiello, from an Oscar-winning original screenplay by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley.

I’m a huge fan of Moonstruck, and I’m really excited to bring you this exclusive audio commentary, which I’m sure you’re going to love. Even though, as we all know, "love don’t make things nice. It ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess.”

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A ⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks for listening!

A ⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

Previous Episode

American Star (2024) with Screenwriter Nacho Faerna

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, ⁠⁠⁠David Hughes.⁠⁠⁠

For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome Gonzalo López-Gallego and José David Montero, director and cinematographer respectively of the terrific neo-noir American Star, in which Ian McShane plays an ex-soldier-turned-hitman who travels to Fuertaventura, one of the Canary Islands, to do a job, and finds himself on a journey into his soul.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, we’re doing a second episode covering the splendid neo-noir American Star, in which Ian McShane plays an ex-soldier-turned-hitman who travels to Fuertaventura, one of the Canary Islands, to do a job, and finds himself on a journey into his soul.

This time, our guest is screenwriter Nacho Faerna, and not just because he wasn’t able to make the first recording we did for this film, but also because he really gave birth to the story, and I thought his insights into the development of the film could offer a broader inspiration for aspiring screenwriters.

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A ⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠ production. Conceived, written and presented by ⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.

Next Episode

Baghead (2023) with Director Alberto Corredor

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by David Hughes.

For this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by director Alberto Corredor for a peek under the hood of his terrific 2023 horror movie BAGHEAD.

When I first saw the film, reviewing it for Time Out, it had a very late embargo, which normally means you can expect the worst. But even though I didn’t go in with low expectations – because I like to give every film a fair shot – I was still mightily impressed, not only by Freya Allen’s terrifically spiky performance, but also by the way Corredor understood what audiences wanted, and was determined to give it to them, without ever condescending to them with a knowing wink.

Now that I’ve seen the 2017 short on which Baghead was based, I’m also impressed by how far the screenwriters went to build on not only the idea at the heart of the short, but also deeper themes of grief, inherited trauma and determinism.

Massive thanks are due to Alberto for jumping on board, but also to Studio Canal, especially Mubanga Mweemba, for connecting us.

Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases.

Thanks for listening!

A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja.