Pass the Popcorn review

Rating: 8/10 (25 December 2013)

It's a Wonderful Life is considered one of the best movies of all time, and also one of the most beloved Christmas movies in American cinema, even though it was a box office failure when it was released and received some negative reviews, and it won just the Academy Award for Technical Achievements, despite being nominated for five more. What I like about this movie is that it isn't a classic Christmas movie: the movie isn't about how things get better overnight for the main character just because he/she 'believes in Christmas', or some idiocy like that. Christmas just plays a small, but great role in the final part of the movie, which is, ultimately, about life.
The movie starts with God and Joseph, explaining to the angel Clarence (Henry Travers) that he has to go to Earth and save George Bailey (James Stewart), who's contemplating suicide. God then begins to show Clarence George's most relevant moments in life, from childhood till the present. Most of the movie is actually spent showing us that George always wanted to travel but decided to stay in his hometown and save his late father's business, and that he's always been a good person, who's always thought more of the others than himself and has led a good life. But when he finds out he can't pay a debt, he wishes he'd never been born – and Clarence shows him what would have become of his town, had he never been born.
As I've said before, It's a Wonderful Life is about life. When you're young you have your dreams and ambitions, and you're sure that you'll end up living an ideal life, just like the one you've always planned. But life just happens and you often can't control it, and one day you discover you're a completely different person from the one you wanted to be. Some of us can't stand this and eventually come to a breaking point: George in this movie wanted to end it all and thought everyone would have been better off without him, not realising he had done so much and that even the problems that seem insurmountable can be resolved, with help from friends and family.
Because of its simple but timeless story, this movie has aged beautifully. Add to that the great acting and dialogues, the good sense of humour, the complex characters, the great cinematography – and you get a truly wonderful movie. It's impossible not to see and feel that George Bailey represents all of us, and it's easy to share his joys and sorrows as if they were our own. Ultimately, this is a movie that truly sums up what Christmas – but also all our lives – should be about: being a good person, because it pays off and because the richest people are those surrounded by family and friends, not the ones that have lots of money. It might be a naive and idealistic message, but it works amazingly for this time of the year.
Rating: 8/10 Read more reviews at http://passpopcorn.com/