Johnny leaves for Sicily for his dying mother's blessing before marring Loretta. Johnny asks Loretta to locate his bother Ronny (Nicholas Cage) and invite him to the wedding. Loretta finds Ronny working in the basement of his bakery and soon realizes Ronny blames Johnny for a life altering accident, but that is not all Loretta realizes, she is in love with her future brother-in-law. .
Meanwhile Loretta's parents Comos and Rose are having their own marital issues, which cause them to second-guess their love and commitment for each other. At the kitchen table Cosmo replies, "A man understands one day that his life is built on nothing, and that's a bad, crazy day" (Gardenia, V. 1987). Rose his wife responds, "Your life is not built on nothing! Te amo" (DuKakis, O. 1987). Through Rose's eyes, her husband has built a good life; he has a home, a family, a loving wife, a thriving business that is a good life. .
In the beginning of the movie, cinematographer David Watkins shoots a close up of a well-dressed corpse. The stain glass window of Nucciarone Funeral Home surrounds the body in an ethereal glow, the camera pulls away, the shadow of the deceased's family praising funeral director Al Nucciarone on his genius; while the music of Dean Martin's 'That's Amore' is playing in the background. Ironically, "you'll sing 'Vita Bella" is a line from the song "That's Amore" it translates to; you will have a good life. That evening of the first full moon, Johnny has just proposed to Loretta, he is flying to Sicily to see his 'dying' mother before he leaves he asks Loretta to invite his brother Ronny to the wedding. Loretta is shocked to hear that Johnny has a brother. "Haven't spoken in five years" (Aiello,D. 1987) as he looks at his left and cringes; "there is some bad blood." .
As Loretta looks at Johnny's plane on the tarmac through the airport window, an old gray haired woman dressed in black tells Loretta she put a curse on Johnny's plane.
