In memory of
James “Jimmy” Stewart
(Wonderful actor, winner of an Academy Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, and Brigadier General in the USAFR)
May 20th, 1908 – July 2nd, 1997
“Boys and girls and music…why do they need gin?”
Like with A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life is a timeless Christmas Class—more timeless I might add, released in 1946 and still doing very well. However, unlike A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life is only shown on one channel once a year on Christmas Eve.
There are few things to be said about this movie that haven’t been said before, but I’s still like to give a review for those who love the film and would like to hear someone else’s ideas about it and for those who have yet to see it. Trust me, there are people who have not seen it, one being my girlfriend until last night when we watched it together and she fell in love with it.
First, I know this story is getting a bit old, but I wanted to again, make fun of Fox news for calling The Muppets a communist propaganda film. If any film should be called out for its potential anti-capitalistic ideals, it is It’s a Wonderful Life. The main antagonist is like a real life Scrooge who never got visit from spirits but actually spends and enjoys his money. Mr. Potter is the wealthiest man in Bedford Falls. He owns more than half the town, is without a doubt a bastard— he is cruel, conniving, only concerned with profits, and disregards the intrinsic value of human life. Not to mention the fact that the world where Potter owns everything is a world of vices and anger.
This beloved classic that was made during the 40’s right after WWII, arguably one of the most greatest times in America being united as one, is more anti-capitalistic than a the Muppets who are technically owned by Disney, one of the largest corporations in the world.
FYI, I do not think The Muppets or It’s a Wonderful Life are communistic propaganda
It’s a Wonderful Life is a fantastic movie. Despite it being over two hours and over fifty years old, it draws the audience in and is quite an affective film.
For those of you who have not seen the film, it takes place on the day the main character, George Bailey (James Stewart), is thinking about taking his life. This day also happens to be Christmas Eve. Angels up in Heaven are deciding what they should do about it and decide to send Clarence, an angel who has yet to receive his wings. However, Clarence is simple minded but also innocent and faithful. Joseph, the head angel shows Clarence the important highlights of George’s life in a series of flashbacks.
The flashbacks show the audience that George is the most selfless person most of us have ever met. He constantly sacrifices his own wants, hopes, and dreams for the betterment of others—starting with when they were children, saving his younger brother’s life but in the process losing hearing in his left ear.
George is a tragic character, the protagonist of the story, we, the audience, feel sympathetic for him at every turn. George since, childhood, has always wanted to get out of the small town and travel, see the world, go to college, build and invest in things. He is a man brimming with ideas and hopes of the future, an intelligent man who sacrifices everything for those less fortunate. He never leaves his hometown or even state, let alone the country, he never goes to college, he never gets to fulfill any of his ideas, and he does not even get to go to war to fight the Nazis due to his bad ear. He does get to build things however. With all his talent and ingenuity, George builds a whole community of quaint little homes that are worth twice what it cost to build.
He feels like his life has been meaningless especially since he never achieved even half of his dreams. Then, at the height of his revelry, when his brother is returning home from war a hero, tragedy strikes. Clarence comes down to stop him from throwing his life away. After Clarence convinces George that killing himself would only make matters worse, George decides it would have been better if he had never been born, and so Clarence shows George exactly that: a world where he was never born.
George then realizes, as the title suggests, that it really is a wonderful life and the ending of the film could not be any better.
James Stewart does a wonderful performance as always. There are a few things wrong with the film however—I only critique this film because I love it. There are a few scenes where it is clear there is something wrong with the editing, sometimes it feels like you may have missed some lines of dialogue. In addition, the concept of angels is a bit inaccurate but it is creative so that makes up with it. Another problem is that several of the child actors are not convincing at all but then again, they are children. Overall, however, this film is really good. The background music is beautiful—I mean really aesthetically pleasing, the film itself is aesthetically pleasing with some innovative (for the time) film work to look out for. It is a great family film and is an existential film. A classic, heartfelt, film and a Christmas tradition for most. You can catch it on NBC Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24th, at 8:00 PM eastern (a week from today).
I give It’s a Wonderful Life 4.9 out of 5 stars (only for the reasons listed above, personally, it is a 5, and is close enough to not really matter).
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