Wedding Bell Blues: 100 Years of Our Great Romance with Marriage
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Photography & Video
Wedding Bell Blues: 100 Years of Our Great Romance with Marriage Details
From Publishers Weekly From pop culture aficionados Barson and Heller (Teenage Confidential) comes a cheeky look at marriage in the last century, for better or for worse. For the most part, they shy away from much of the recent past in favor of the visually rich and amusing marriage culture of the 1940s, '50s and '60s, revealing a trove of images of blushing brides and men in skinny ties. It's a wise move, as too many sendups from the later part of the century might hit a little close to home. But who won't chuckle at a list of "Those Awful Truths: The Ten Best Film Comedies About Marriage"? Other highlights include "They Never Married: Hollywood's Most 'Almost' Couples," "Harold Bloom Presents the Five Happiest Marriages in Shakespeare" and "Ten Time-Tested Tunes about Getting, Being, or Un-being Married." Perhaps the most enlightening section picks words of wisdom from marriage advice manuals from 1888 through 1999, proving that although our attitudes might change, our need to know if we are doing it the way everyone else does it will never go away. Full of hilariously dated advertisements, paperback book jackets, movie posters and other ephemera, this is an ideal wedding shower gift and a must-have for pop junkies. (May) FYI: Barson is associate director of publicity at Putnam. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more Review ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY Blues may look like the usual sugary, bridal-planning swoon-fest, but within its frothy packaging is a surprisingly detailed history of marriage as reflected in pop culture over the past century. Using vintage prints, movie posters, and book jackets to complement the cheeky text, the authors have cobbled together a witty chronicle of modern wedlock. In chapters that cover everything from weary star advice (Woody Allen once said, "Marriage is the death of hope") to excerpt from hilariously antiquated sex manuals to the top 10 Hollywood couplings, Blues manages to both skewer and celebrate in a lively, fresh way. We think we're in love. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
Reviews
I wasn't quite sure what I was ordering, since at the time I ordered this book, no reviews had yet been written.But I'm delighted I ordered it from Amazon!It is a compendium of the most interesting, funny "pieces" about marriage, from marriage manuals of the 20's to movie posters that as stand-alone objects, are absolutely hilarious.....to songs about love and marriage...you name it, it's in here! The editors/authors really obviously had just a ball writing and collecting this, and their humor and enthusiasm carries, BANGO, right through to the reader.If you've been reading too much heavy literature, as I had when I ordered this book, this will really lighten you up.I nearly died laughing over the blurb about "OPEN MARRIAGE" by the O'Neils in the late 60's (or was it early 70's). In my first, most ludicrous marriage on earth, my first husband was a great believer in this, had me read it, and at the time, I took it quite seriously. What a hoot to read it again now and see how truly ridiculous it was! And it was such a sign of the times!Each and every entry takes you back to the time it was written (even if you weren't around then), and really gives the reader a strong sense of the times.The only things I'd have changed? I would LOVED to have read more deeply into the marriage manuals of old, would have loved to have read much more in detail on those....and I would have really loved to read at least a longish blurb from the "marriage/romance comic books" they mention only by title. I think lengthening these two aspects would have made me give this book a five-star rating.No matter how you feel about marriage, you simply won't be able to resist being entertained by this book.