lord_cadbury

I love Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life", so it pains me to admit that this film is a flop. It has high ideals, but is ultimately contrived and simplistic at the same time. The movie hinges on the notion that having money is less important than having friends (ala Wonderful Life), but gets a little to black and white with the characterizations - deep down, the wealthy folks are miserable people, and the poor and middle class are noble citizens. Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur have great chemistry, and there are some nice moments between them, but it all sort of gets lost in this heavy-handed morality play.

This is a delightful and fun film with a clever plot. The writing is terrific and funny. Some of the exchanges between Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan are priceless and had me laughing out loud. Very well acted and directed throughout. The main oddity about this film is that it takes place in Budapest for some reason. The location has nothing to do with the story. It could have easily been set in Los Angeles or London and it wouldn't have mattered a drop. That one quirk does not detract from the film at all - just an interesting note (likely the result of the original stage play). The only reason I gave this a 9 instead of a 10 was that the ending was a little flat - especially with the big buildup that precedes it. All in all a real classic though.