Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Falling in Love at the Movies by Esther Zuckerman - Wait list

Falling in Love at the Movies

Rom-Coms from the Screwball Era to Today

by Esther Zuckerman
ebook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 6 weeks
Place a hold Read a sample Read a sample
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 6 weeks
Prepare to swoon, ugly cry, laugh, and fall in love with this officially licensed exploration of the impact and legacy of one of film's most beloved genres from Turner Classic Movies: the rom-com.
Romantic comedies have had an incredible influence on popular culture, shaping everything from how we think of relationships to fashion. Often swept aside in film history, these movies are thought of as pure comfort viewing. Although they certainly provide those fuzzy feelings, they have also had a significant artistic influence and cultural impact. Spanning decades of romantic comedies—from movies of the 1930s such as It Happened One Night and the rom com craze of the 80s and 90s including When Harry Met Sally...all the way to contemporary hits like Crazy Rich Asians, and everything in between—Falling in Love at the Movies will make you fall in love (all over again) with romantic comedies.
Esther Zuckerman—accomplished entertainment journalist and member of the New York Film Critic’s Circle—takes readers on a journey through the rom-com. She examines the aspects that make us so drawn to these types of films, diving deep into the key auteurs—from Preston Sturges to James L. Brooks to Nora Ephron and beyond—who both created and subverted the canon.  These directors, actors, and writers shaped the genre, establishing and also busting traditional pillars and tenets of these movies such as the “Perfect Pair” or “The Man in Crisis” and “The High Maintenance Woman.” Featuring full-color images from the films throughout, along the way Zuckerman takes detours, explores iconic lines of dialogue (Who could forget Julia Roberts' “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her” iconic moment from Notting Hill?) to memorable scenes (the magical moment at the Empire State Building in Sleepless in Seattle) and weaves in interviews of artists and romantic comedy fanatics in the industry. 
 
Looking beyond the traditional rom-com, Zuckerman digs into the nooks and crannies, the films that buck the trend of "happily ever after," the ones that think beyond heteronormative narratives, and the indies that kept the rom-com alive outside of the studio system, to offer a more comprehensive story of the rom-com than has ever been seen before—and one that you’re bound to love. How’s that for a happy ending?

  • Creators

  • Series

    Turner Classic Movies

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 3, 2024

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780762484478

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780762484478
      • File size: 156455 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      October 15, 2024
      Romantic comedies have been a popular genre of movies since since films arrived on the cultural landscape in the very early twentieth century, and they remain popular to the present day. Entertainment journalist Zuckerman (Beyond the Best Dressed, 2022) has compiled a historical overview of the genre that not only looks at many of the major players in the field but also examines many of the tropes that have developed in rom-coms since the 1920s. Most of the names Zuckerman mentions have the fond familiarity of old, dear friends: directors from George Cukor to Nora Ephron, actors from Katharine Hepburn to Meg Ryan, from Cary Grant to Tom Hanks. The author clearly knows her stuff but avoids being dryly academic, maintaining the breezy feel of a knowledgeable aficionado talking casually with a group of fellow fans. For devotees of the genre, from serious cinephiles to the casual viewer, Falling In Love at the Movies will provide an informative and pleasant stroll through a garden of cinematic enjoyment.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Library Journal

      November 1, 2024

      If romantic comedies are the love letters of cinema, this book is a love letter to romantic comedies. In a brief and upbeat style, entertainment journalist Zuckerman (Beyond the Best Dressed) covers rom-coms from 1930s to today, focusing on key elements of the genre. Through dozens of perfect examples, she explores tropes like the "meet-cute"; Relatable Queens vs. Spitfires (Meg Ryan or Jean Arthur vs. Reese Witherspoon or Katharine Hepburn); the essential side characters of the Best Friend (often played by Judy Greer) and the Man in Crisis (many of John Cusack's roles); the art of deception in Some Like It Hot and Tootsie; realistic but unhappy endings like those in Broadcast News or My Best Friend's Wedding; LGBTQIA+ films (Jeffrey; The Wedding Banquet); and, of course, the high school classics (Sixteen Candles; Clueless). One chapter focuses on three archetypal rom-com couplings: Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Wisely, Zuckerman also explores the degree to which many of these films haven't aged well (see: the sexism of the Hepburn/Tracy pictures and the outlandish plots of the Day/Hudson films). VERDICT An enjoyable tribute to a beloved film genre.--Peter Thornell

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading