It's A Wonderful Movie

Rating: Null/10 (16 December 2003)

Stepping away from the holiday clichés attached to holiday movies, Capra delivers It's A Wonderful Life, an original and heartfelt piece easy on the eyes, and entertaining enough for the whole family to enjoy.

Focusing more on the ups and downs of life and a the value of having a little bit of faith, rather than Santa Claus and Jingle Bells, this film exposes the audience to a much more realistic Christmas environment, filled with laughter, tears, and heartache. We're not all Barbies and Kens living in a dream house with smiles painted on our faces, we're real people who deal with real problems and this is a movie anyone can relate to. The acclaimed director shows us another side of Christmas, which at times are a little rough on the edges. From financial problems to suicidal tendencies, Capra really knows how to bring the heat to the viewers! One would think that this movie would be a downer since it's plagued with trials and tribulations, but the goal is not to focus on the negative things happening to the characters' lives, but more on how the characters deal with these hurdles in their lives and what good or bad emerge from their actions.

George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) is a down-to-earth family man who, along with his eccentric Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell), runs the town's Savings & Loans, which was left to him by his father. George fights many uphill battles. One of which are financial problems and the other is one that has lasted ever since he was a boy. Mr. Potter, the richest and meanest man in the town virtually owns everything, except of course, George Bailey's little bank. Refusing to be bought over by Potter, George bailey is content with working hard in order to keep the last honest business around to serve the public. But when George's dimwitted uncle losses a large amount of money they owe to the government, tensions rise which drives George to question the value of his life. He gets an answer, but in the form of a wingless cross dressing angel named Clarence with an eerie revelation...

Stewart definitely did an excellent job at portraying both the good and bad sides of George Bailey. You could feel his excitement and joy as well as his heartache and pain. The despair of this broken man really came through when he allowed the audience to see his morale dwindle down to nothing during all of the yelling, binging, and overall decay of the blissful character we first saw. This is hands down Stewart's best performance.

It's A Wonderful Life is the epitome of the perfect Christmas movie. Without getting too tacky, the obvious ending is forgiven by this reviewer since it produced a very important message pertaining to the significance of human life and a strong faith within you and God. This movie is highly recommended for anyone who's up for a little uplifting in their spiritual and/or emotional lives.
Grade: A-