Box of Moonlight (or Box of Moon Light) is a 1996 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom DiCillo, starring John Turturro, Sam Rockwell and Catherine Keener.
Al Fountain, a middle-aged electrical engineer, is on the verge of a mid-life crisis, when he decides to take his time coming home from a business trip, rents a car, and heads out looking for a lake he remembers from his childhood. But his wandering takes him into the life of Kid, a free-spirited young man who helps Al escape from the routine of everyday life and find freedom to enjoy himself.
Provides examples of:
- 555: The phone sex hotline is 555-4Sex.
- Abandoned Warehouse: All and Kid have a fun shooting practice at the abandoned construction site.
- Accidental Misnaming: Kid repeatedly calls Floatie as Flighty and Al a nuclear instead of an electrical engineer.
- Almost Kiss: Between Al and Floatie.
- Bathroom Stall of Overheard Insults: Al overhears his workers bad mouthing him at the hotel.
- Campfire Character Exploration: Al and Kid have their first more serious talk at night by a fire site. That's also when the Kid catches the moonlight in a box.
- Clocks of Control: Al shoots the big clock on the construction side which symbolizes his Character Development away from being a Clock King.
- Comically Missing the Point: Al doesn't get the waitress' advances and thinks she really wanted to know if they got hot showers at the motel.
- Cry into Chest: Kid cries into Al's chest after being beaten badly by the bullies.
- Foreshadowing: The rental car company is called "Circle" which foreshadows Al Going in Circles.
- Going in Circles: Al realizes that his trip was actually a round trip when he finds himself back at the construction site of the windshield wiper factory.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Al and Kid form this kind of close relationship if only for a couple of days.
- Male Frontal Nudity: We see Sam Rockwell's character naked once or twice.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Kid plays the buddy-movie equivalent. He wears a Davy Crockett costume and teaches Al to love life.
- Perverted Sniffing: When Kid and Al sniff Purlene's panties, the former correctly deducts her to be a redhead.
- Red-and-White Comedy Poster: The movie poster is designed as such though the movie itself doesn't really fall into the genre.
- Title Drop: Kid drops the Trivial Title.
