The Man in the Moon
You remember when we were little and Mama used to tell us when things get all mixed up all you have to do is tell the man in the moon?
The Man in the Moon is another film that makes me nostalgic, despite the fact that I was not even born when it was released. I watched it a lot in the summers growing up, along with other 90s films like Now and Then. Oddly enough, it was actually released in October, though it takes place in the summer of 1957, making it the perfect addition to my summer series list.
Revisiting this movie, it's a lot more strange than I remember. I have mixed feelings about the romance between Dani and Court; was it innocent, or was he kind of manipulative? I also have a lot of emotions about Dani's physically abusive father. Most of all, I like that the core of the film, much like other movies I've covered, like The Parent Trap, is rooted in sisterhood.
She's My Sister
Dani is 14 years old in The Man in the Moon, while her sister Maureen is getting ready to go off to college. However, the age difference doesn't have much of an impact on their bond. Even though Dani expresses some jealousy toward Maureen for being beautiful and getting a lot of attention from boys, she never seems to resent her sister, at least not at the start of the film. In many ways, they are the typical but complicated older-younger sister dynamic. Dani is jealous of how beloved her older sister is, but simultaneously, she admires her and aspires to be like her. In the same way, I felt Nancy Meyers being a woman was beneficial to some of the scenes in The Parent Trap, I feel female screenwriter Jenny Windfield's writing was beneficial to the sister storyline in Man in the Moon.
"You know, Dani. You and Maureen are going to be sisters for a long time,"-Matthew Trant, The Man in the Moon.
I don't know whether or not Jenny had a sister growing up, but I can tell she understands the two characters deeply, which is why she was able to create such an authentic relationship between them. One of the best moments between the two is when Maureen is braiding Dani's hair as she asks her for advice on kissing. At this point, Dani keeps her crush on Court a secret, but Maureen gives her advice regardless, telling her to practice kissing on her hand. I love this scene because it's so silly, but it's also a very touching moment between the two. Dani sees her sister as an authority on the topic, even though her sister, at only around 17, is still a young girl herself who doesn't know much about relationships or the world. However, Dani trusts her anyway.
When Maureen sparks up a romance with Court, it's understandable. Maureen and Court make a lot more sense than Dani and Court since they're around the same age, but it still feels like the ultimate betrayal. Maureen initially turns Court down because of Dani's feelings toward him, but they both know nothing could ever actually happen between Dani and Court, and they can't hold back their emotions just because Dani has a crush. I feel for Dani a lot. She already expressed feelings of jealousy toward her sister, and seeing a guy, who is seemingly the first person she's really liked, other than Elvis, go off with her sister is painful. However, in the end, with advice from her father, Dani lets go of the resentment toward her sister.
Spoiler Alert: Court dies in the end. He's plowing fields when he reaches for his hat hanging on a tree branch, falls off, and is hit by his tractor. The death reunited Dani and Maureen when Dani realized that despite her anger toward her sister and the grief over losing her first love, her sister loved Court too, and his death hurt her just as much. Instead of shutting Maureen out, Dani is able to connect with her sister about the tragedy, and they grieve together. After all, they're the only ones who could understand each other and what they went through that summer.
You're A Little Girl, And You Don't Know What You're Doing
Dani is caught in a very difficult period in her life; at the age of 14, she's no longer considered a child but also "not yet a woman," as Britney Spears would say. She's very conflicted throughout the film. She wants to run off and play instead of helping her parents around the house, but when it comes to Court, she wants him to see her as an adult. She's also expected to help out with her younger sister as her mother is currently pregnant with her fourth child, who will soon become her number one priority. Growing up as a young girl, especially in 1957, there's a time when suddenly you're expected to act differently. Like the fun is over and now you have to take on the traditional roles of what it means to be a woman.
“I’m not a little girl. I’m 14,”-Dani Trant, The Man in the Moon.
Running off and skinny dipping in the lake does not fit the family's traditional values. Maureen, for example, dresses much more feminine, helps her mother around the house, and goes off to formal dances with her boyfriend, Billy Sanders–even though it's clear this isn't the life she wants for herself. If there were a sequel in which we got to see Dani as she reached the end of her teen years and into adulthood, I would hope she didn't lose her freedom. Despite ordering Dani to grow up, her parents still treat her like a child in many ways. Her father displays some alarming abusive and controlling behavior, and in one disturbing scene, he beats her with his belt after she unintentionally causes her pregnant mother to fall, hit her head, and have to be hospitalized.
Later, Dani expresses maturity by telling her father she's not angry with him for hitting her. I do feel like Dani was trying to prove to him here that she's an adult; this way, maybe Court would believe her, too. However, I lean more to the side that she had every right to be mad at him and should have reported him for child abuse. After she says this, her father seems to deeply regret his actions as he gets out of the car, picks her up, and hugs her. There are other scenes in the film, too, where her parents hug her in a way that shows us they still see her as a kid because they don't do the same with Maureen. One of the most significant is when Court dies.
Her mother holds her as they wait for her father to return with an update, and when he comes back revealing Court has died, Dani runs to him while Maureen is left to mourn on her own. I think Dani tried very hard to grow up throughout the summer in order to be old enough for Court, but the most growth happened after Court's death when she was able to forgive her sister and grieve with her. Sure, Dani grows up this summer when she finds her first love, but she also grows through her first experience with real grief and how quickly it came after falling in love because that is a lot of emotions for a young girl to cope with.
I Love You, Court
Dani and Court's story in The Man in the Moon is the perfect representation of first love. At first, Dani can't stand Court because she thinks he's rude, but once she starts to like him, it's full throttle. She falls head over heels almost instantly, and she seems to have an unspoken plan for how she's going to be with him. I have to admit, I do admire her confidence. Dani is unphased by the age difference and doesn't question whether Court likes her back; she assumes that if he's spending time with her, then he must reciprocate her feelings, and as we see throughout the film, she isn't necessarily wrong. Elvis is becoming a common theme in my newsletters, as I also discussed him in Lilo & Stitch, but he has a pretty significant presence in The Man in the Moon as well. Dani's bedroom walls are lined with posters of Elvis as she sings along to his song "Loving You."
For Dani, Elvis is her true love, and no man can compare. I love the scene after she realizes how much she likes Court, where she's tearing her Elvis posters off her wall, signifying he is no longer the love of her life. This feels all too familiar. Throughout the generations, whether Elvis, N'SYNC, Leonardo DiCaprio, or Justin Bieber, there's always been a teen heartthrob for young girls to yearn for. I remember being in school with girls who swore they were going to marry Justin Bieber until they met someone in their life that they actually wanted to date. Moving from yearning for a larger-than-life public figure you've never met to falling for someone you actually know feels like a core moment in girlhood (unless you want to emulate Hailey Bieber and actually marry your celebrity crush, go for it!)
Otherwise, I feel this scene was incredibly important to Dani's growth. Dani has many giddy moments and acts from a desire to be around Court, like when she brings him a jug of water while he's on his tractor and is always asking him to meet her at the creek. She even sneaks out at night to swim with him since he has to work during the day. And on several occasions when they're in the water together, she wraps her arms around him like he's her boyfriend. The strange part is that the Court does little to set boundaries. Eventually, he realizes he has to put an end to the affair, but he drags it out and goes back on his decision over and over again. It's understandable why a 14-year-old would think her feelings were reciprocated, especially when he kisses her shortly after making it clear to her that they couldn't be together because she was younger than him.
He also made some unsettling comments about wanting her boobs and butt to get bigger, which is a strange thing to say to someone who is barely a teenager. However, this is all coming from a 2024 perspective. From Dani's perspective, Court is perfect. He is sweet and lovable, and he's kind to her. He gives her the attention she craves from him, but he holds back out of respect and good morals, making him even more likable. The thing about summer love is it's not meant to last, which is why the yearning for an older boy storyline works so well in the context of the film; that, on top of his death, makes for a perfect tragic summer love affair. Going for Maureen was the ultimate betrayal from him as well because even if he made it clear Dani was too young for him, he was supposed to be her friend.
“Don’t love me now when things are so mixed up.”-Court Foster, The Man in the Moon.”
The way he went after her sister seemed almost vengeful. I clearly have a lot of conflicting feelings toward the movie, and if you look online, a lot of people do, especially over Court's death. However, I feel this way about most summer romances in the film–when I get up to Dirty Dancing, I will have a lot to say–but I still love The Man in the Moon deeply, and I can't help but love the dynamic between Dani and Court no matter how odd, inappropriate, and confusing it may be, but wasn't that the point anyway? If movies didn't tell complex stories with complicated characters, we would be bored.