This class will concentrate on the two most popular eras of romantic comedy: the Screwball Comedies of the 1930s (It Happened One Night through The Lady Eve) and the return to romance films of the late ‘80s and 1990s (When Harry Met Sally through You’ve Got Mail.) Students will screen the movies on their own; class sessions will be devoted to discussion and clips from related films with the same stars, screenwriters, or directors. We’ll look at what these movies tell us about gender roles, female stars, the use of music and dialogue, mistaken identity, and parallels with Shakespeare.
The last class (May 8) will be held On Campus, so we can get to know one another in real life and will conclude with a screening of the incomparable Moonstruck (Jewison, 1987).
