The Man in the Moon (1991)

A coming of age story set in the south of the U.S. when Elvis was King.

Director:

Robert Mulligan

Writer:

Jenny Wingfield

Stars:

Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Gail Strickland

3 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:

swimming | farm | louisiana | kiss | 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:

Robeline Methodist Church, Robeline, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$109,935, 6 October 1991, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,853,801

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was filmed in Natchitoches, Louisiana, the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Territory. According to a Natchitoches resident, the filmmakers had a difficult time finding extras for the movie, as locals had been burned by the producers of Steel Magnolias (1989) (also filmed in Natchitoches).

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Goofs

In the last scene of movie, where Dani and Maureen are sitting on her bed. Maureen is braiding Dani's hair, Dani's hair is completely braided all the way down to the end. Then in the very next shot, Dani's hair is all brushed out and sectioned into three parts as though Maureen is just beginning to braid her hair.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dani: I love Elvis so much.
Maureen Trant: You love everybody so much.
Dani: I do not.
Maureen Trant: You do, too.
Dani: No I don't.
Maureen Trant: Okay, you don't.
Dani: Well, I don't. Maureen, sometimes you make me feel like such a baby.
Maureen Trant: You are a baby.
Dani: I wish I could be just like you.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Will Forte/Ashley Benson/Joseph (2016)

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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

Great movie, great soundtrack

I watched this movie by chance, get curious by the trailer on TV. I like when I discover movies like this, little, tender stories about ordinary people. Even if the end is tragic, "The Man in the Moon" has some funny moments, especially in the first characterization of Dani, with her innocent and pure love affair with Court. It's really a beautiful, moving love story with 3 high points: the performance of Reese Witherspoon, who maintained her promises in the world of cinema, the beautiful cinematography by the "Old Lion" Freddie Francis and the fantastic score by James Newton Howard, which is really the soul of the movie. His themes (which deserved an Oscar nomination) are so intimate and lyric that it seems they had transformed the screenplay in music.