I Do and I Don't
  • Published: 15 March 2014
  • ISBN: 9780804169745
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 432
  • RRP: $45.00

I Do and I Don't

A History of Marriage in the Movies

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From one of our leading film historians and interpreters, a brilliantly researched, irresistibly witty, delightfully illustrated examination of "the marriage movie": what it is (or isn't) and what it has to tell us about the movies--and ourselves.

Here is “happily ever after”—except when things aren’t happy, and when “ever after” is abruptly terminated by divorce, tragedy . . . or even murder. With her large-hearted understanding of how movies—and audiences—work, leading film historian Jeanine Basinger traces the many ways Hollywood has tussled with the tricky subject of marriage, explicating the relationships of countless marriages from Blondie and Dagwood to the heartrending couple in the Iranian A Separation, from Coach and his wife in Friday Night Lights to Tracy and Hepburn, and even to Laurel and Hardy (a marriage if ever there was one). A treasure trove of insight and sympathy, illustrated with scores of wonderfully telling movie stills, posters, and ads.
  • Published: 15 March 2014
  • ISBN: 9780804169745
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 432
  • RRP: $45.00
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Praise for I Do and I Don't

  • "A witty look at how films portray marriage, and how these onscreen contradictions mirror the institution itself." --O, The Oprah Magazine
  • "A breezy, fun excursion into Hollywood's presentation of matrimony...deeply personal." --Los Angeles Times
  • "Fascinating.... The real fun comes from the splendidly crafted, creative, compelling critiques that make you want to see many movies again or for the first time." --The Boston Globe
  • "Written by the esteemed Wesleyan University academic and cinematic soothsayer Jeanine Basinger...an insightful account of how films have represented wedlock, both holy and unholy, through the years.... Basinger has a gift for zeroing in on tantalizing details that bring a visual medium to readable life." --USA Today
  • "Lively...knowing and illuminating.... Hollywood movies of the studio era were not, as Basinger takes pains to point out, produced by naifs. Many of them convey sophisticated references to sexual intercourse, prostitution, even homosexuality--if you know how to interpret them. That some of us still do is often thanks to popular scholars like Basinger....Hilarious, spot-on." --Salon

  • "A witty look at how films portray marriage, and how these onscreen contradictions mirror the institution itself." --O, The Oprah Magazine
  • "A breezy, fun excursion into Hollywood's presentation of matrimony...deeply personal." --Los Angeles Times
  • "Fascinating.... The real fun comes from the splendidly crafted, creative, compelling critiques that make you want to see many movies again or for the first time." --The Boston Globe
  • "Written by the esteemed Wesleyan University academic and cinematic soothsayer Jeanine Basinger...an insightful account of how films have represented wedlock, both holy and unholy, through the years.... Basinger has a gift for zeroing in on tantalizing details that bring a visual medium to readable life." --USA Today
  • "Lively...knowing and illuminating.... Hollywood movies of the studio era were not, as Basinger takes pains to point out, produced by naifs. Many of them convey sophisticated references to sexual intercourse, prostitution, even homosexuality--if you know how to interpret them. That some of us still do is often thanks to popular scholars like Basinger....Hilarious, spot-on." --Salon