Tears of Laughter : Comedy-Drama in 1990s British Cinema

by Nigel Mather

• ISBN13: 9780719070761
• ISBN10: 0719070767
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2006-03-03
• Publisher: Manchester University Press

Summary

Nigel Mather examines the interactions of comedy and drama in three vital thematic strands of British cinema during the 1990s: comedies exploring issues of class, culture and community in British society, "ethnic" comedy-dramas engaging with complex issues of identity and allegiance in modern Britain, and romantic comedies featuring characters searching for a suitable and desirable partner. Films to be discussed in detail include Brassed Off, The Full Monty, East is East, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and a post-1990s romantic comedy, Love Actually.

Author Biography

Nigel Mather teaches at the University of Kent.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	vii
Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction `Tears of laughter': comedy-drama in 1990s British cinema	1	(4)
`Things can only get better . . .': comedies of class, culture and community	5	(62)
Concepts of community, `comical' cultural clashes and British cinema	7	(15)
The--'Ealing spirit' and 1990s regional comedies	22	(7)
Case studies: Brassed Off (1996) and The Full Monty (1997)	29	(20)
Conclusion	49	(18)
Racial discourses, ethnicity, and the `comic mode' in contemporary British cinema	67	(52)
`To love (or hate) thy neighbour?' Situational comedy and racial conflicts in 1970s British film and television culture	70	(12)
My Beautiful Laundrette (1986), a 1980s ethnic `soap opera', and Rita, Sue, Bob and Aslam Too	82	(3)
Developing notions of ethnic comedy-drama in 1990s British cinema	85	(12)
Case study: East is East (1999)	97	(12)
Conclusion	109	(10)
Romantic comedy and new beginnings in 1990s British cinema	119	(66)
Conceptualising the `comic romance'	120	(5)
Trends and traditions of romantic comic drama in British film culture	125	(18)
Constructing romantic scenarios in 1990s British cinema	143	(6)
Case studies: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999) and Love Actually (2003)	149	(26)
Conclusion	175	(10)
Conclusion	185	(11)
Filmography	196	(4)
Bibliography	200	(9)
Index	209