as good as it gets

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2006)

American movies don't get any better than "The Best Years of Our Lives," the Samuel Goldwyn-produced epic from 1946. It had everything: a great story, an incisive director (William Wyler, whose other credits include "Ben Hur" and "Roman Holiday"), cinematography by Gregg Toland, and a cast to die for (Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright and Harold Russell). Although the movie was made sixty years ago, the subject it deals with is sadly relevant today: the readjustment problems of returning war veterans. Three men have to overcome their inner demons: Al Stephenson (Fredric March), the wealthy banker, has difficulty returning to his comfortable life after enduring the horrors of jungle warfare; Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), the ex-Air Force bombardier, is now just another working stiff with a bimbo wife and an uncertain future; and sailor Homer Parrish (real-life amputee Harold Russell, who won a well-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar) is afraid to face his fiancée with hooks. Fortunately, each man has an understanding woman to help him through his transition: Al's wife Milly (Myrna Loy), daughter Peggy (the wonderful Teresa Wright) and Homer's fiancée Wilma (Cathy O'Donnell). This movie is a genuine piece of Americana, and one only hopes our current generation of combat vets will find the same love and understanding.