Serious Moonlight (2009)

24% of critics liked it
(33 reviews)
26% of users liked it
(2,539 ratings)

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 Bell), she impulsively decides to take drastic action. She ties up Ian in their country house, and… More 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 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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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 24 min.
Directed By: Cheryl Hines
Written By: Adrienne Shelly
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 4, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Feb 9, 2010
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

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."
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
Serious Moonlight has its flaws, but then what marriage doesn't?
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
Meg Ryan really needs to steer clear of embarrassments like this.
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.
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, 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.
Chris Barsanti, PopMatters
...tart, frequently goofy...
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
Sadly, something seems to have gotten lost in translation.
Mike Russell, Oregonian
I appreciate that talented people wanted to honor Shelly by making this film. They likely would have better honored her by mounting her script as a play.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Adrienne Shelly deserves better.
Kimberly Gadette, Indie Movies Online
Meg Ryan's Louise is problematic. It's not so much that she chooses to hold on to her man, as it is the man who she chooses to hold on to.
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
Small indie that has all the ingredients of a typical Hollywood Meg Ryan romantic comedy from the 1990s, including Meg Ryan, but lacks the spark of the best of her genre.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A dreadful and unappealing comedy about a couple whose marriage is in jeopardy.
Emily S. Mendel, culturevulture.net
it is nice to see a film made for adults, with fine acting and the amusing last-minute twist that pulls the film together.
Wade Major, Boxoffice Magazine
The movie conversely feels disengaged and misdirected, a forgettable reminder that every clever idea does not a good movie make.
Scott Von Doviak, culturevulture.net
Plays out like a sitcom version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Alexis N

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.
Nicki M

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 with… More
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 with 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.
Cynthia S

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… More
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 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,
Lorenzo v

"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… More
"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 ... right before their home is invaded by burglars. <center>REVIEW</center> 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.
Cassie H

Funny but not funny enough to receive a 5 star review.
Leigh R

Predictable ending. It was an okay movie.
Jake .

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… More
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 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.
♥˩ƳИИ &

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… More
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 (Timothy 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.
Martin B

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… More
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, 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.
Walter M

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.… More
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. 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.
nefnie l

A man is leaving his wife of 13 years for a woman he's been cheating with over a year. Wife finds out and decides to hold him hostage - on a toilet seat, no less - until he loves her again. A woman actually begging a man to come back to her, who has been cheating, lying, and… More
A man is leaving his wife of 13 years for a woman he's been cheating with over a year. Wife finds out and decides to hold him hostage - on a toilet seat, no less - until he loves her again. A woman actually begging a man to come back to her, who has been cheating, lying, and even telling her she's ugly? Yeah, sounds like a keeper! I have to give this movie one star for such a wacky story, and another for the toilet.
d j

is different but the movie is ok when you are bored
Sunil J

Wow. This movie is TERRIBLE. None of the characters are likeable and Meg Ryan is just NUTS! I really don't believe that Adrienne Shelly wrote this screenplay before her death and prefer to think of it as a studio issue. There is so little character development and all of the cast… More
Wow. This movie is TERRIBLE. None of the characters are likeable and Meg Ryan is just NUTS! I really don't believe that Adrienne Shelly wrote this screenplay before her death and prefer to think of it as a studio issue. There is so little character development and all of the cast is more deserving than this script.
Daisy M

Serious Moonlight' was a simple comedy. Louise (Meg Ryan) found out that her husband Ian Timothy Hutton was planning in leaving her for a younger mistress Sara,Kristen Bell. She holds him as hostage, duct taping him to a toilet, and made him explain what happened to their… More
Serious Moonlight' was a simple comedy. Louise (Meg Ryan) found out that her husband Ian Timothy Hutton was planning in leaving her for a younger mistress Sara,Kristen Bell. She holds him as hostage, duct taping him to a toilet, and made him explain what happened to their marriage and force him love her again. The most part of the movie was all about this. I just watched until the end to find out whether it was really that bad, or maybe I was lucky after all and it will get better in the end.Unfortunately was not that lucky, only one good thing about this movie was, it was short,, so much torture I had not endure.