Suzsplaining: Screwball Comedy vs. Contemporary Rom Com

In this edition of Suzplaining, Suzanne draws connections between the screwball comedies of the 1930s/40s, long believed to be the pinnacle of the romantic comedy, and more contemporary romantic comedies. What is the foundation of the screwball comedy, and how have the rom-coms of the 2000s/10s adapted those elements to our contemporary courtship context? The conversation is a little funny, a little sexy, and a little bit about the patriarchy.

Drink each time Suzanne recommends that Hannah watch Palm Springs.

Films discussed in this ep:

Three screwball examples: It Happened One Night (1934), The Awful Truth (1937), His Girl Friday (1941)
Three contemporary examples: You’ve Got Mail (1998), 27 Dresses (2008), and Set it Up (2018)

Other movies we discussed/recommended:
Bringing Up Baby (1938), Holiday (1938), Love Crazy (1940), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Sliding Doors (1998), The Wedding Planner (2001), Penelope (2007), How Do You Know? (2010), What’s Your Number? (2011), Mr. Right (2015), Everybody Loves Somebody (2017), Palm Springs (2020)

Reading List:

Article
Greene, Jane M. (2011) “A Proper Dash of Spice: Screwball Comedy and the Production Code.”

Books
Grindon, Leger (2011) The Hollywood Romantic Comedy: Conventions, History, and Controversies
Glitre, Kathrina (2006) Hollywood Romantic Comedy: States of the Union 1934-1956
Pennington, Jody (2007) The History of Sex in American Film
Taylor, Anthea (2012) Single Women in Popular Culture: The Limits of Postfeminism

Watch List:

How the Catholic Church censored Hollywood’s Golden Age

Why Movie Ratings Don’t Make Sense

"Perfectly Nice Married Couple" Scene from It Happened One Night