Film 74: "It's a Wonderful Life"

Good stuff here. I think I'm a Jimmy Stewart fan now-- after these last two films, but maybe I should get some more and some different styles to find out. Was he in the original "Rear Window"? Anyway, to blogging!

Synoahpsis:

This had one of the more interesting starts to a film. A bunch of folks seem to be praying for George on Christmas eve, and because so many people are calling out on his behalf, a comical conversation among some celestial bodies take place. The bodies decide to send Clarence or something like that down to Earth to help George out- if he does a good job, he gets his wings. Before he's sent out, the being fills him in on the life of George.

Jimmy Stewart gets to play awesome people, it seems. In this time, he plays George Bailey, son of Mr. Bailey, who runs the Building and Loan society in the small town of Bedford Falls. Mr. Bailey is a big-hearted sort of fellow, and not a strong businessman, so the building and loan doesn't make a lot of money. It does, however, assure the community has quality homes at reasonable prices... for good working families. He manages to keep it open despite the efforts of a ruthless businessman called Mr. Potter to take over the small company and shut it down.

When his father dies, George, desperate to leave Bedford Falls, see the world and become an engineer/architect, is forced to choose between sacrificing his dreams to take over the family business or the community fall into the hands of the notorious Mr. Potter.

The film covers many areas of George's life and culminates in his wish of desperation that he'd never even been born. That's when Clarence steps in to show him what Bedford Falls would have been like had George not touched so many lives there.

The best bit:

I thought the scene right after the wedding was an amazing insight into the depth of George Bailey's character. Despite being desperate to leave Bedford Falls his whole life to see the world, and now having the excuse, a honeymoon with $2,000 cash in hand (in the 40s no less), he still sacrifices his own happiness to serve the people of his community. His new wife's response makes the whole film even better.

Marks out of 10:

This film is always playing around Christmas time, but I think it's very enjoyable at any point in the year. Bailey's a remarkable character, and even though the theological sense of a guardian angel getting wings and all that is a bit hollywood, the story along with the humor and richness of characters makes this film easily worth a 9.0