A Review of Falling in Love at the Movies
January 17, 2025
From My Favorite Wife (1940) to Never Been Kissed (1999), I’ve been a romantic comedy fan as long as I’ve been a movie fan. That’s just one reason I was so excited to read Falling in Love at the Movies: Rom-Coms from the Screwball Era to Today by Esther Zuckerman, which was released by Running Press last December.
Falling in Love at the Movies isn’t just a straight chronological history of cinematic romantic comedies; I don’t think that would have even been feasible, given how flexible the genre can be compared to others. Rather, Zuckerman dissected rom-coms produced over the last century from several angles, focusing on familiar character archetypes (the bad girl, the best friend), established plot tropes (the meet-cute, the art of deception), age and gender (teenagers, LGBTQ+), and beyond.
The book is well-researched and inviting for both the casual fan and those more well-versed in the history of romantic comedies. I find the evolution of the genre fascinating, and I’m glad these movies have finally received an overdue deep dive. As Zuckerman noted more than once, rom-coms have been brushed off for decades as comfort cinema not worthy of scholarship. But there’s plenty to analyze and learn from them, which is exactly what Falling in Love at the Movies proved.
What I especially enjoyed was how she highlighted the different flourishes in the genre through the years, from the screwball era to the Doris Day/Rock Hudson flicks of the 1960s to the romantic comedy frenzy of the 1980s and 90s. For instance, Zuckerman dove into the way the themes and antics of My Man Godfrey (1936) weren’t as relevant to audiences in 1957 when the film was remade—a remake I didn’t know existed and now kind of blows my mind!
Gail Patrick, Alice Brady, Carole Lombard, and William Powell in My Man Godfrey.
Interestingly, Lombard and Powell were married in the early 1930s and divorced by this time.
Indeed, the political and social climates in which these movies were produced and received, whether at the time of their original release or decades later, greatly impact the way in which we perceive them. While that is true of most movies, it’s not something you’d necessarily first think of when it comes to rom-coms, but then you remember films with plots that are very much tied to the time in which they were made, like The More the Merrier (1943), A Foreign Affair (1948), and Shampoo (1975), all of which the author discussed.
Zuckerman made a point to highlight all types of romantic comedies—from big studio releases to indies and films centering around teens to those spotlighting older protagonists—in addition to examining how the genre has started to embrace more diverse stories and characters. While I had heard of many of the classics and big hits she wrote about, from Bringing Up Baby (1938) to Sixteen Candles (1984) to Knocked Up (2007), the book introduced me to many new-to-me titles too, like Claudine (1974) and The Half of It (2020).
On a similar note, Zuckerman also showcased the genre’s notable directors, writers, and performers. From Ernst Lubitsch, Preston Sturges, and Billy Wilder to Nora Ephron, Nancy Meyers, and Garry Marshall, those crafting classic rom-coms have left their unique marks on the genre and long inspired those following in their footsteps. After more than a century, writers and directors have continued to evolve romantic comedies with fresh and innovative stories, which is something that Zuckerman detailed clearly.
Rom-coms may not have always received high critical reception, but nonetheless, they’ve always attracted stellar actors, many of whom excelled in this world. Zuckerman analyzed “perfect pairs” like Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks while also examining the different types of characters they sometimes embodied, including the high maintenance woman and the man in crisis. Even Adam Sandler (2004’s 50 First Dates) and Hallmark movies got a shout-out, proving the value films across the genre provide, in addition to entertainment and comfort.
You've Got Mail reunited the team of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and it was also a remake of Ernst Lubitsch's 1940 romantic comedy-drama The Shop Around the Corner.
While I like how Zuckerman highlighted various elements that make up your average rom-com—some obvious to me and others not so much—I did find it a little hard to process all the information, as the book covered so much ground and select films are brought up many times in different ways throughout. (Though to be fair, that’s probably more so just how I digest information.) I also love how Zuckerman put the spotlight on various iconic moments from select rom-coms throughout the book, and I actually felt that she could have included a few more. That said, I’m guessing those were pretty hard to narrow down and choose in the first place!
I believe myself to be a pretty big rom-com fan, but I must say I was surprised at how much I learned from Falling in Love at the Movies. It certainly was eye-opening realizing how the genre has sustained, reinvented itself, and changed with the times. Like Zuckerman argued, the romantic comedy is not dead—far from it! I for one am curious to see where creatives will take the genre next.
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Thank you to Running Press for providing me with a review copy of this book. You can order a copy of the book here.
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