Serious Moonlight (2009)

Director:

Cheryl Hines

Writer:

Adrienne Shelly (writer)

Release Date:

4 DECEMBER 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

a love/hate comedy.

Plot:

A high-powered attorney duct tapes her adulterous husband to the toilet ... right before their home is invaded by burglars. |

Plot Keywords:

Duct Tape | Toilet | Attorney | Marriage | Lawyer

Cast

Meg Ryan	...	Louise
Timothy Hutton	...	Ian
Kristen Bell	...	Sara
Justin Long	...	Todd
Andy Ostroy	...	Police Officer
Nathan Dean	...	Detective
Kimberlee Peterson	...	Trashy Girl
Derek Carter	...	Man #1
Bill Parks	...	Man #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kylan James

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some threatening behavior.

Runtime:

USA:84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44437)

Filming Locations:

GMT Studios - 5751 Buckingham Parkway, Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Night and Day Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Late Show with David Letterman: (#17.30)" (2009)

Ian: Louise, why am I duct taped to the f****** CHAIR?!?

Louise: Because, my love, you are going to stay there until we work things out.

And so begins this drama between a married couple with no children, he a corporate office employee, she a successful lawyer.

I agree with most all previous posters mentioned. To pull off a story that will keep you interested until the very end with just 3 major players is quite a feat. The strength lies, of course, in the powerful dialogue between them. But more than that, this story is not just a flick on failed relationships, but on WHY they fail. Luoise (Meg Ryan) cannot and will not accept the fact that Ian (Timothy Hutton), her husband, wishes to leave her. She cannot accept he has fallen in love with a lovely, younger woman. But the truth is not so simple. If you listen carefully past the hurt locker, you will hear reasons, good ones, as to why these things happen. The fault is not entirely the wife's, but it is not entirely the husband's either. What happens is that in most cases, problems never get talked about and discussed. In this story, events unfolded in such a way they were forced to.

But then again, we have the usual guilt/blame game. It took both of them quite some time to accept where they had failed, Louise much longer than Ian. In the middle, you have Sara (Kristen Bell), who obviously loved Ian and went to lengths to fight for him. In the end, as they say, may the best man (or woman) win, but if you notice carefully, there was something lacking in Ian when these scenes were being played out, something which makes you think , "Ok, now, seriously, are you gonna be a man about this or what?" I couldn't help feeling sorry for the girl - she was obviously sincere and showed it without compunction.

However, just when you think you've got it all figured out and you see the pieces falling into place, well here comes the final scene, where you say, "What? what just happened...hello? what was that? run that by me again?" and you feel like I did, like the wind had just been knocked out of me and I sat staring at the screen wondering what I saw. Ingenious! I'm sitting here writing this and still turning this scene over and over in my mind, contemplating the different possible meanings.

I don't agree the movie is a waste of time or disappointing. Don't think this is another exercise at flogging the dead horse of marital what-have-you problems. No, this is an ingenious and well-written story, a bit off the regular path, yes, and bizarre in some ways, but well done. I don't think anyone's acting was poor either. The humorous parts made me laugh, and the sad ones made me shake my head in sorrow.

Watch it and enjoy yourself! Well worth it!!