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Blue Moon
Year - 2000
Studio - Paradise Pictures
Stars - Ben Gazzara, Rita Moreno, Alanna Ubach, Brian Vincent, Burt Young, Vincent Pastore
Director - John A. Gallagher
Writing Credits - Steve Carducci (story), John A. Gallagher (writer)
Music - Stephen Endleman
Synopsis
Frank (Ben Gazzara) and Maggie (Rita Moreno) have been married for 40 years, and have raised three children. Frank is recently retired and Maggie is concerned that he seems depressed and uncommunicative. She insists that they go to their Catskills cabin for a rest and a change of scene. There, Frank's negativity continues and she threatens to return to the city. But, in a moment of nostalgia, Frank suggests that they both make a wish under the "blue moon", as they did many years before. Maggie wishes that she could see the Frank she once knew.
As they sleep in their bed, a young couple, Peggy, (Alanna Ubach) and Mac (Brian Vincent) arrive at the cabin, under the impression that they have rented it for the week. They get into a bitter argument about their respective parents and about their dreams for the future. Peggy runs off to the bedroom and Mac announces he'll sleep on the couch. But she is shocked to discover Frank and Maggie in the bed; Frank grabs his shotgun and threatens to call the police about the intruders.
Mac and Peggy identify themselves by their full names — they have the same names as Frank (whose nickname was Mac) and Maggie (whose name is Margaret, but is called Peggy by all but Frank). As Frank and Maggie further question them, it becomes apparent that the couple is themselves, forty years ago.
Mac and Peggy question Frank and Maggie about what they can expect in their future. And Frank, for the first time, confesses that his father beat and belittled him and, when he finally fought back, his father said that, like himself, Frank was and always would be a loser.
The revelation about Frank's childhood helps Maggie better understand his pain, and provides a belated catharsis for Frank. They excuse themselves briefly to enjoy an embrace and, when they return to the living room, Mac and Peggy are gone.