The Man in the Moon (1991)

Rural Louisiana, summer of 1957, Elvis is King. At 14, Dani is coming of age. Her older sister is beautiful, smart, and off to Duke in the fall; her mom's pregnant with number four (Dad ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Mulligan

Writer:

Jenny Wingfield

Stars:

Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Gail Strickland

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sam Waterston	...	Matthew Trant
Tess Harper	...	Abigail Trant
Gail Strickland	...	Marie Foster
Reese Witherspoon	...	Dani Trant
Jason London	...	Court Foster
Emily Warfield	...	Maureen Trant
Bentley Mitchum	...	Billy Sanders
Ernie Lively	...	Will Sanders
Dennis Letts	...	Doc White
Earleen Bergeron	...	Mrs. Sanders
Anna Chappell	...	Mrs. Taylor
Brandi Smith	...	Missy Trant
Sandi Smith	...	Missy Trant
Derek Ball	...	Foster Twin
Spencer Ball	...	Foster Twin

Storyline

Rural Louisiana, summer of 1957, Elvis is King. At 14, Dani is coming of age. Her older sister is beautiful, smart, and off to Duke in the fall; her mom's pregnant with number four (Dad wants a son), and Dad's pretty strict. Life gets sweeter when 17-year-old Court Foster, his widowed mom, and two little brothers move into the vacant farm next door. Court likes Dani's high spirits and direct way, and though he has a man's responsibilities on the farm, they go off swimming sometimes. The waters of adolescence are deeper than Dani realizes as hers and Court's feelings get jumbled. Then Mother Nature throws wrenching surprises at Dani, and she must come to terms with new emotions.

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Plot Keywords:

farm | love | louisiana | swimming | coming of age | 

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Taglines:

Remember when you couldn't wait for your life to begin... and then, one day, it did?

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un été en Louisiane

Filming Locations:

Kisatchie, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$2,853,801 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Pathé Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reese Witherspoon answered an open casting call in Nashville, Tennessee, for extras, but ended up landing one of the lead roles.

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Goofs

When Danni sneaks out to meet Court at the pond, it is full night. But when he gets mad and then she runs away, there is light pouring down through the woods.

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Quotes

Court Foster: You know you don't have to come along.
Dani: Are you sure you can find your way, it's an awful big town.
Court Foster: Are you always in the habit of going where you're not wanted or is this a new thing with you?
Dani: Are you always this nice to people you just met or are you practicin' up to be a horse's butt?

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Crazy Credits

The Producers wish to thank: The LADIES of "JUST FRIENDS"

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Soundtracks

"Loving You"
Written by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
Performed by Elvis Presley
Published by Gladys Music (ASCAP), Jerry Leiber Music (ASCAP) and Mike Stoller Music (ASCAP)
Gladys Music administered by Chappell & Co.
Courtesy of RCA Records

User Reviews

Pretty good film.

"The Man In The Moon" is a pretty good movie. It is very touching at times and is very well done in all respects. I wouldn't say the film was terribly original, but what is these days?

The cast members all did a great job with their respective roles. I really enjoyed seeing Reese Witherspoon at such a young age, and does quite a good job. Jason London does a fine job as well. And the only other person I recognized was Sam Waterston, who did a fantastic job with his role. I really liked Sam's character (Matthew Trant) a lot. At times he seemed to be the kind of father you dread, but in the end you really like his character. The rest of the cast was very good as well.

If you're into touching movies about growing up and dealing with what life throws at you, then you ought to watch this film. I'd suggest reading the plot synopsis and if that sounds like something you'd be interested in, then go for it. Anyhow, hope you enjoy the film, thanks for reading,

-Chris