Truly wonderful.

Rating: 10/10 (19 August 2004)

I was in elementary school when I first saw "It's A Wonderful Life". My teacher (or perhaps a substitute) had little to do in the last day before the holidays began, and so she decided that the class would spend the entire morning watching "It's A Wonderful Life". I had, of course, heard of the film, and seen several parodies and takes on its ending (on Tiny Toon Adventures, for example), but I had never seen the film itself. Seeing that movie was a life-changing experience. Simply put, "It's A Wonderful Life" is one of the greatest movies ever made, and one of the few black and white films that can hold my attention. Jimmy Stewart gives the performance of his life as George Bailey, the humble man from Bedford Falls who sets aside his life's ambitions in order to help others. Stewart is truly phenomenal, even if the spectacle of him playing the "young" George is a bit difficult to accept. Also in fine form is Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter, the nastiest and richest man in town. Mr. Potter is the very embodiment of the self-satisfied aristocrat, and an easy man to hate. Donna Reed is great as George's true love, Mary, although (like Stewart) her unchanged appearance despite the passage of many years requires some creative disbelief. Particularly heartbreaking is Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy, the good-natured but forgetful man who nearly ruins the family. The plot of "It's A Wonderful Life" is well known, and has been frequently imitated, but never surpassed. George Bailey decides to end his life, and God sends an angel to help him. George then becomes convinced that the world would have been better off he had never been born, so the angel Clarence transports him into an alternate timeline where he did not exist, and shows him how George's selfless life altered so many people's lives for the better. George returns, and is greeted with the results of his compassion. I watch "It's A Wonderful Life" once a year, when it aires at Christmastime, and it always brings me a great feel of renewal. This is a true classic, one that all people should watch, regardless of their faith. 10/10, and a cheer for all those involved.