Excerpt

While the romantic comedy has almost always trafficked in happy endings, that happiness is rarely accompanied by a sense of risk or exhilaration.
When you think of, say, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, you will recall the emotional combat of two strong-willed, independent individuals ending in mutual conquest.

Love was a dangerous and noble sport that required skill and cunning as well as commitment. It required movie stars whose physical appeal was matched by verbal dexterity and a vital sense of idiosyncrasy.




From Funny, how romance is dying
by A.O. Scott
Published in the New York Times
Reprinted in The Sunday Express