Chemistry in cinema - Part II: Moonlightning

What's this, a TV series? Yes. Surprised? I wanted to begin my series of Chemistry in Cinema, with something unexpected and Moonlightning has a lot of merits to be mentioned in my list, including Bruce Willis with hair in a comedic role.

David Addison and Maddy Hayes.
Yes, that is Bruce Willis

Moonlightning was a TV series that lasted about five seasons from 1985 to 89. It stars Cybill Shepperd portraying Maddy Hayes, a former model who decides to open up a detective agency after her modeling agent took off with her money, and a young up and coming Bruce Willis as David Addison, as a bright detective who always has a way with words and solving the cases that are brought to them.

I used to watch this show regularly when I was a kid and it was good enough to make me understand relationships between a man and a woman. David would always make Maddy "mad" and they would both slam the doors of their offices every time they had a discussion (which was about twice an episode) to try to express themselves and drain some of the real tension that grew between them every episode. I even remember an episode where Maddy slams her door in anger, opens it up yells something at David so he can open his, and then she slams hers again. It was hilarious.

David mocking Maddy.
Bruce Willis was hilarious in this series.

Another decisive element that helped build up the perception of us viewers of the chemistry of the stars was Al Jarreau's signature soundtrack, the Moonlightning theme. Despite it being played over and over during the key tension scenes between Maddy and David, it never got old. It served the purpose of remind us that love was slowly building up.

I like this picture because it
summarizes very well
David and Maddy's personality

While a bit monotonous and with several plot holes in many of the episodes, the series grew stronger with the basis of actually having a man and a woman running a company and trying not to fall in love for each other, despite the fact that they actually could. The interesting relation was subject to the pressure of having to solve a case, work under the same roof, share past experiences about boy/girlfriends, and cope with the fact that Maddy liked a guy like David and David liked a girl like Maddy. Maddy's bad mood (she was always pissed off) and David's careless personality, resulted in them complementing each other and working effectively and function as a team. The more they spent time together, the more admiration grew for each other. It got to the point where the relationship surpassed the co-worker level, the friends level, and got to the emotional level after three seasons.

Ironically, the series tanked as soon as Maddy and David decided to "go for it" and became boyfriends, and you could see why because it was something that wasn't really supposed to happen, so it got cancelled after poor ratings. Through its run, it was nominated and won dozens of awards. Bruce Willis won an Emmy as outstanding lead actor.

While there were rumors about a movie, Moonlightning never made it to the big screen. However through over 60 episodes, it does feature one of the best chemistry relations I have seen in my life and that is why I include it on my list. If you ever have a chance, try to watch some of the earlier episodes and let me know what you think.

The next one will be a movie for sure. Which one would you bet I will be doing?