Puerile nonsense

Rating: 1/10 (29 December 2013)

Stewart plays the saintly George Bailey who, on the brink of committing suicide, gets sent an angel to sort things out in order for the angel to earn his wings. Hilariously parodied by more contemporary films and series, not excluding Married With Children, the idea and execution, let's be honest here, is trite and cloying. Stagy performances and a dragging screenplay is really all that there is for the viewer to mercilessly swallow while the lengthy running time of the film brutally tests one's patience. Had the director shaved off 30 minutes or so from the excruciatingly melodramatic and repetitive second act, the movie would have been far less exhausting, though the silly what-ifs the story puts forth wouldn't have been any less clunky and witless.
Despite the technical achievement, which is impressive for its day and age, this is one of those classics the popularity of which simply lacks credibility. Perhaps Grandma and Gramps are still able to look kindly on this overblown, saccharine monstrosity, but anyone under 60 shouldn't be subjected to it.