Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: "Romantic Comedy" is a fun read. Perfect for those intersted in the wonderful screwball comedies of the 30's. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Defines what's missing from today's comedy
Review: James Harvey does a wonderful job of conveying the ebullience, spirit, humanity and grace of the lightest of golden age Hollywood fare--the romantic comedies. I studied under Prof. Harvey at SUNY Stony Brook and his courses on these films and others (particularly film noir and the films of Robert Bresson) have stayed with me nearly twenty years later, like beacons of taste and good sense. What this book does is describe a moade of being that comes from the studio system. I often rue the fact that today's good movies are almost always "one-shots," utterly individualistic enterprises that seem unrelated to each other in any meaningful way. You can't group today's movies the way you could the films of Lubitsch, Sturges and Hawks. There may indeed be in our time a palate of stars that could rival Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, and character actors like William Demarest, Eugene Pallette, Al Bridge and Felix Bressart--but they don't have the school of movies to appear in. It's a shame, but its great that we have those old movies to look at, and books like this one to remind us that there really was a time when adults with grace and wit were simply terrific on the screen.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books on film art
Review: Not only is this a comprehensive survey of the genre of romantic comedy (and its profound sub-genre, screwball comedy), but Harvey's digressions offer many wise comments on pre-1950 films in general. I came away convinced that comedy is more profound than tragedy. A good editor won't spoil "Hamlet" by cutting some of its dialogue, but it would be infinitely harder to cut dialogue from any of the great comedies written and directed by Preston Sturges. As a bonus, Harvey provides a glowing appreciation of the comic artistry of Irene Dunne, along with a wonderful interview with her.
Rating: 
Summary: A book for the lover of the screwball comedy
Review: Sturges, Lubitsch, Hawks, all the directors of the golden age of the comedy are here. The book we are looking for. It was easy to find books about the film noir or the western but it wasn't so easy to find the same about comedy. This is the book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Curate's Egg
Review: This book is interesting in spite of the theories it contains rather than because of them. Maybe those who have given this book a good rating are just happy that the author spends a lot of time talking about so many wonderful films. But, whilst much of the analysis of the films is interesting, a lot of it is rather hamfisted. In many cases the author seems to be praising the actor for doing what the writer or the director told him to do. In fact I would say that in this book the role of the scriptwriter is completely misunderstood. This severely weakens Harvey's attempts at textual analysis In addition, Harvey's literary judgements are rather curious to say the least. For example, he completely underates the genius of Noel Coward and claims that the movies of the 30s as an American artifact whilst ignoring the obvious influence of the British comedy of manners in forming the backbone of Hollywood comedy. The silly left wing social theories expressed in this book are laughable, as is the author's hankering for 'subversion' in comedy films, at the expense of just plain laughter. This book is far too long and repetitious. The services of a good editor would have been worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: A Curate's Egg
Review: This book is interesting in spite of the theories it contains rather than because of them. Maybe those who have given this book a good rating are just happy that the author spends a lot of time talking about so many wonderful films. But, whilst much of the analysis of the films is interesting, a lot of it is rather hamfisted. In many cases the author seems to be praising the actor for doing what the writer or the director told him to do. In fact I would say that in this book the role of the scriptwriter is completely misunderstood. This severely weakens Harvey's attempts at textual analysis In addition, Harvey's literary judgements are rather curious to say the least. For example, he completely underates the genius of Noel Coward and claims that the movies of the 30s as an American artifact whilst ignoring the obvious influence of the British comedy of manners in forming the backbone of Hollywood comedy. The silly left wing social theories expressed in this book are laughable, as is the author's hankering for 'subversion' in comedy films, at the expense of just plain laughter. This book is far too long and repetitious. The services of a good editor would have been worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best movie books ever
Review: This book is so wonderful, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's making me fall in love with movies all over again. The writing is lucid and intelligent, and Harvey is such a great viewer of films that he makes scenes spring right out of the page. I'm renting lots of movies I've never seen based on his writing about them, and re-watching old favorites with a whole new understanding. If you love movies, buy this book. You won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: The best film book ever written
Review: This is a wonderfully intuitive and enjoyable book, as exuberant as romantic comedy itself. Like other reviewers here, I've been guided to many forgotten gems of romantic comedy (e.g. Theodora Goes Wild -- wonderful Irene Dunne film). Harvey explores these films with intensity and love and reveals the depth of a film tradition that is often misunderstood or taken too lightly. I'm a screenwriter and this book is my bible, I continually turn to it for inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: The best film book ever written
Review: This is a wonderfully intuitive and enjoyable book, as exuberant as romantic comedy itself. Like other reviewers here, I've been guided to many forgotten gems of romantic comedy (e.g. Theodora Goes Wild -- wonderful Irene Dunne film). Harvey explores these films with intensity and love and reveals the depth of a film tradition that is often misunderstood or taken too lightly. I'm a screenwriter and this book is my bible, I continually turn to it for inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable!
Review: Truly one of the most fascinating and enjoyable books on film history. However, there was one disappointment - mainly Harvey's chapter on the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movies. It struck me as an essay on 1930s musicals and he does not give much credit to Ginger Rogers' contribution to the dance team.
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