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Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell, Justin Long, Nathan Dean ... see more see more... , Andy Ostroy , Kimberlee Peterson , Derek Carter , Bill Parks

When high-powered attorney Louise (Meg Ryan) learns that her husband, Ian (Timothy Hutton), plans to leave her after 13 years of marriage to run off with his twentysomething girlfriend, Sara (Kristen ... read more read more...Bell), she impulsively decides to take drastic action. She ties up Ian in their country house, and refuses to let him go until they talk things through. Naturally, he resists, and things take an even worse turn for the couple when a young hooligan (Justin Long) hears Ian's cries for help, and decides to rob the couple blind instead of helping the hapless husband. Serious Moonlight was scripted by the late Adrienne Shelly. Shelly's husband, Andy Ostrow, who produced the film and has a small role in it, decided to go forward with the project, for which Shelly had been seeking a producer, after the actor-director's tragic death. Serious Moonlight marks the feature directorial debut of actor Cheryl Hines, who co-starred in Shelly's last directorial effort, Waitress. Several key crew members for Serious Moonlight -- including composer Andrew Hollander, casting directors Sunday Boling and Meg Morman, costume designer Ariyela Wald-Cohain, and line producer Brigitte Mueller previously -- worked with Shelly on Waitress. Serious Moonlight had its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where it was shown in the Encounters section. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

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27% liked it

2,792 ratings

Critics

24% liked it

33 critics

R, 1 hr. 24 min.

Directed by: Cheryl Hines

Release Date: December 4, 2009

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DVD Release Date: February 9, 2010

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Flixster Reviews (356)

  • theylovealexis
    December 6, 2010
    theylovealexis
    Meg Ryan gets together with her French Kiss boyfriend, Timothy Hutton. She tapes him to a toilet this time, instead of letting him go to Paris. I loved this movie, not as much as French Kiss, but it's funny, sad, clever and an honest look at marriage.
  • romy861
    November 6, 2010
    romy861
    Disappointing. At least an hour of this, (and it only runs for just over 80 minutes), is just Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton in a room. She has found out that he is about to leave her for his much younger mistress, played by Kristen Bell, and is not happy about it.
    As is usual w... read moreith Meg Ryan these days, her acting fails as it is impossible to stop looking at her plastic face in horror. She has no expressions anymore, so it is hard to empathise or feel moved by anything she says or does. I found myself getting quite bored with this extended scene with the two of them and even reading the paper at one point.
    Kristin Bell's reappearance, (she appears briefly in the beginning of the movie), towards the end livens things back up again, and the small twist at the end almost made the whole film worth watching. Almost. It's just a pity it is so dull getting there.
  • itsjustme2004
    October 14, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    Ok. Well, this isn't one of those big budget blockbuster romantic comedy films that most people expect from these two actors. It is a more subtle black comedy of sorts. Someone mentioned that it seemed more like a three act play, and it did. It was well done, and quite unusual in... read more a way. BUT, if you watch it knowing full well that is supposed to be quirky, and unusual, you will enjoy it more. I did find it a little predictable, but that's ok. I enjoyed it anyway. It's definitely worth seeing,
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    September 8, 2010
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "A relationship ending is like a death just two people know about. A whole life gets lost, everything we did together. All the places we traveled, the fights, the small moments of tenderness."

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

    REVIEW

    This film is about a woman coming back home to find her husband writing a note asking for divorce. She holds her husband captive to try to win him back. "Serious Moonlight" has only two actors most of the time, and the whole film is set in a house. Yet, it manages to maintain viewers' attention by the spectrum of emotions the two go through as the day progresses. The plot is engaging, but I find the husband's change of heart a little too abrupt. The final few seconds of the film is simple and yet effectively suggests something sinister has happened, thereby opening up viewers' imagination as to why things happened this way. "Serious Moonlight" is an interesting portrayal of a troubled couple who searches their soul for answers.
  • movieguru12
    August 17, 2010
    movieguru12
    Funny but not funny enough to receive a 5 star review.
  • dreamfaeries
    July 9, 2010
    dreamfaeries
    Predictable ending. It was an okay movie.
  • neverteaseaweasel
    April 9, 2010
    neverteaseaweasel
    While this is by no means a masterpiece, I found it to be a very entertaining and interesting film. It is funny in the most depressing and odd ways and there is a surprising amount of depth concerning marriage and adultery. While Meg Ryan's character was obviously being a wee bit... read more psychotic, I really felt sympathetic towards her. I think on the whole we have forgotten just how big of a commitment it is to be married. Granted, the film is not that philosophic or profound, but there is more meat there than you would expect. Still, the characters are very exagerated, and the story even more so; but, I enjoyed the movie. It made me laugh and made me ponder, but it's already mostly forgotten.
  • LWOODS04
    February 21, 2010
    LWOODS04
    Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Justin Long, Kristen Bell

    DIRECTED BY: Cheryl Hines

    Louise (Meg Ryan), a high-powered Manhattan lawyer, is touched when she arrives for the weekend to her family?s upstate getaway to find it strewn with rose petals by her husband of 13 years, Ian (... read moreTimothy Hutton). Unfortunately . . . Ian is not expecting Louise, rather his much younger girlfriend (Kristen Bell). In fact, he?s actually in the process of writing Louise a letter explaining his intention to leave her for good. An oddly cool Louise has other plans. She takes Ian captive, refusing to release him until he commits to working on their marriage together. When Ian?s impatient mistress shows up, not to mention an opportunistic gardener (Justin Long), things start to get seriously complicated. Not merely a war of the sexes, SERIOUS MOONLIGHT is a story of a war of the wills as Ian tries to talk his way out of the situation.

    This movie takes a bizarre take on a "done me wrong" marriage. The thing is I was conflicted on how I felt for the married couple. I felt sorry for her but also felt that she was crazy. It's sad that any woman or man would rather stay in marriage and be cheated on and told how ugly and awful they are then be alone. It's just sad. For him I felt like he deserved to have a plant thrown at him and knock him on his ass. But then I felt bad for him for having to endure a crazy woman like her for 13yrs. But as the story plays out all those feelings go away cause the couple makes you route for them to be together no matter how crazy she is or what a scum bucket you think he is. But then the ending comes and just leaves you stunned. What a dark twisted ending. Brilliant I thought. Some might see it coming, other's not so much. I had my suspicions, but to have it played out at the end was great. Loved the ending even if it leaves you guessing what happens next. It's a scary thing to see what lengths a scorned woman will go to keep her man.
  • shiftyeyeddog
    January 29, 2010
    shiftyeyeddog
    What the hell happened to Meg Ryan?? Look back at anything she did in the 80's and 90's and she's very cute - even hot sometimes. But then she went and had some horrific plastic surgery done (WHY do actresses do that??!?) and now I can't even look at her. Around the same time,... read more she started making horrible movie choices. Did this have something to do with her marriage falling apart? Something happened, because she went from A-list cutie to D-list has-been.

    To be honest, the only reason I watched this movie was for Kristen Bell and Justin Long. They were both actually pretty good in this, but as much as I like them, this movie was just bad, topped off with a "twist" ending that is painfully obvious an hour earlier - from the very first moment they're trying to fool us.
  • gator681
    January 14, 2011
    gator681
    Unbeknowst to Louise(Meg Ryan), her husband Ian(Timothy Hutton) is planning on running away with Sara(Kristen Bell), a good 20 years younger, to Paris. Unbeknowst to Ian, Louise is on her way to their country home where he is waiting for Sara before going to the airport together... read more. With such misperceptions on a collision course, it is no surprise that somebody gets hurt, namely Ian when Louise throws a flower pot at his head, and is instantly signed to a multi-year deal by the Mets. That gives them plenty of time to talk about their marriage when she ties him up.

    "Serious Moonlight" gives new meaning to the phrase, "ball and chain." However, it does not give new meaning to romantic comedies. At best, it is a mildly amusing movie that a good cast can do little with. Not helping matters is how stagebound it all feels. On the plus side, there are some keen moments of insight sprinkled throughout but the movie would have needed a darker tone to succeed.(It should be noted that the Geneva Convention has outlawed the showing of wedding photos to prisoners.) But I have to admit, I did love the final shot.

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Critic Reviews

Carrie Rickey
December 10, 2009
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

More strident than funny, the film illustrates that old French proverb, "Marriage is like a cage; one sees the birds outside desperate to get in, and those inside desperate to get out." Full Review

Betsy Sharkey
December 4, 2009
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

Serious Moonlight has its flaws, but then what marriage doesn't? Full Review

Joe Neumaier
December 4, 2009
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

Meg Ryan really needs to steer clear of embarrassments like this. Full Review

Tom Long
December 4, 2009
Tom Long, Detroit News

It's a tribute to writer Adrienne Shelley and first-time director Cheryl Hines that, despite the film's flaws, it ultimately pulls off its unlikely tone. Full Review

Stephen Holden
December 4, 2009
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Serious Moonlight suggests an unholy, watered-down hybrid of The Ref and Funny Games, played as a chirpy screwball comedy.

Mick LaSalle
December 4, 2009
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

It's difficult to say whether the script itself is a serious misfire or if the problem is Cheryl Hines, an actress making her directorial debut. Full Review

Doris Toumarkine
December 3, 2009
Doris Toumarkine, Hollywood Reporter

Amusing black comedy about an avenging wife features a strong cast directed by Cheryl Hines.

John Anderson
December 3, 2009
John Anderson, Variety

Many women would probably like to duct-tape their unfaithful mates to a toilet bowl, but watching it happen isn't quite as funny as it sounds. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
December 2, 2009
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

There's a lot of yelling, cracking wise, and cooing in this creepy rom-com. Full Review

Melissa Anderson
December 2, 2009
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice

Serious Moonlight has a backstory much more intriguingly dramatic than what's onscreen. Full Review

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