When Harry Met Sally ... - Paperback

by Tamar Jeffers McDonald (Author)

When Harry Met Sally (1989) is one of the definitive romantic comedies and has had an enormous impact on the development of the genre since its release. With an illuminating scene-by-scene analysis, Tamar Jeffers-McDonald explores the film's substance and cultural value, and reappraises the importance of the rom-com genre more broadly.

Back Jacket

Ground-breaking in its departure from its predecessors, When Harry Met Sally (1989) established classic romantic comedy themes and tropes still being employed today. Placing the film in its historical, social and generic contexts, Tamar Jeffers-McDonald explores how writer Nora Ephron and director Rob Reiner used structure, filmic devices, music and classic romcom concepts in innovative new ways. In her fresh and timely appraisal of this definitive, much-loved classic, Jeffers-McDonald reflects on the film's enduring legacy and influence on popular culture to give readers a wider perspective on the continuing evolution and importance of the romcom genre.

Author Biography

Tamar Jeffers McDonald is Reader in Film Studies at the University of Kent, UK. She is the author of Hollywood Catwalk: Reading Costume and Transformation in American Film (2010) and Doris Day Confidential: Hollywood Sex and Stardom (2013).