ADULT-+Comedy+and+Drama

The mid '80s-mid '90s concentrated on bringing families, teenagers and young adults to the theaters. In response to this, there was a small movement to produce more adult films such as //Moonstruck//, //Field of Dreams//, //Out of Africa//, //Benny and Joon//, and //Dangerous Liasons//. Some of these films were often more "literary" in nature and dealt with contemporary adult relationships. These films sought to take their viewers' minds off the political and economical events during this time period. Many of the adult comedies and dramas that aired on television took the later time slots not only because of the material, but also because these were smart shows catered to adults, not children. Parents would put their kids to bed, then meet back downstairs to watch the latest episode of //thirtysomething//, //Northern Exposure// or //Frasier//. Many of these shows illustrated the older twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings starting families or accepting the single life in the city, navigating a quirky town and its residence, and just dealing with being a working adult. **Teachable Moments** Incorporating these films into the English classroom would be very easy and work well with a multitude of lessons. One theme that stands out is looking into human relationships. //Mad About You// and //thirtysomethings// could be combined with //Benny and Joon//, //Ghost//, and //When Harry Met Sally// while reading //A Mid Summer Night's Dream//. Each of these texts offers a glimpse into the "romantic" love relationship between their characters. Students could also dissect the written and film version of //The Age of Innocence//, investigating the answers to such questions as What is similar and different? What do the texts seem to say about relationships and are they illustrated differently between the two? What did the director leave out of the movie? Were his choices appropriate, why or why not? What did the director's choices do to change your opinion of the novel? **TV:media type="youtube" key="jespCkDapho?rel=0" height="351" width="432" align="right"** //Cheers (’82-’93)// //thirtysomething ('87-'91)// //Twin Peaks ('90-'91)// //Northern Exposure ('90-95)// //Seinfeld (’90-’98)// //Mad About You ('92-'99)// //Picket Fences ('92-'99)// //Frasier (’93-’04)// //Friends (’94-’04)//
 * __Adult Comedy and Drama__**

//St. Elmo’s Fire (‘85)// //A Room with a View ('85)// //Out of Africa ('85)// //Dirty Dancing (’87)// //Moonstruck (’87)// //Working Girl (’88)// //Big ('88)// //Dangerous Liasons (’89)// //When Harry Met Sally (’89)// //Field of Dreams (’89)// //Ghost (’90)// //Pretty Woman (’90)// //Wayne’s World (’92)//media type="youtube" key="5UuVlfwAMDw?rel=0" height="312" width="542" align="right" //Sister Act (’92)// //Sister Act II (’93)// //Sleepless In Seattle ('93)// //The Age of Innocence ('93)// //Wayne’s World II (’93)// //Benny and Joon (’93)// //Legends of the Fall (’94)// //Leaving Las Vegas (’95)// //Jerry Maguire ('95)//
 * Movies:**

//A Midsummer Night's Dream// by William Shakespeare //The Great Gatsby// by F. Scott Fitzgerald //Great Expectations// by Charles Dickens //The Age of Innocence// by Edith Wharton
 * Literature To Tie In:**