Tribeca Review: ‘Serious Moonlight’

I was looking forward to this film since Cheryl Hines told me about it at the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Gala I attended back in October. I got a chance to speak briefly with her, and she talked about this passion project that she directed from a script written by Adrienne Shelly before she was killed. The film stars Meg Ryan, as Louise, a crossed lover who goes psycho (actually Misery) and duct tapes her cheating husband, played by Timothy Hutton, to a chair in their home. She refuses to let him go until he agrees to work on their marriage rather than run off with his current girlfriend, played by Kristen Bell.

For me, the star of the film was Justin Long who plays the gardener who decides to Rob the house when he discovers Timothy Hutton duct-taped to a toilet. Yes, I know I said chair before. He is moved to the bathroom after he attempts to escape. Long offers some sympathetic words of wisdom to Hutton while still pulling off the dumb criminal act. Hutton and Ryan are good as the leads, and Kristen Bell is always fun to watch. Louise’s attempts at winning her husband back are often funny and the film has some great moments between the two. The ending is fairly predictable but it is still a pretty fun movie. One thing that is surprising is the coarse language. Aside from a few F-bombs, this could have easily been PG-13 and therefore picked up much quicker and for more money by a studio.

Overall, Cheryl Hines did a pretty good job directing her first feature. The cast is fun to watch and the film is entertaining. It could be a good date night film, especially for older couples.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com