It's a Wonderful Life [PG]

In the humble town of Bedford Falls, all the voices of the townspeople are praying for George Bailey; a local legend and greatly appreciated man who has fallen victim to the burden of duty and morals. The night before Christmas, angels look down to see George Bailey attempt suicide, finally overwhelmed by the burden of his unfulfilled dreams, lost ambitions, and struggling moral spat with greedy town banker Mr. Potter. Defeated, George cries out “I wish I’d never been born” and a rookie angel named Clarence comes down to show him what life in Bedford Falls would be like without him. Clarence must convince George to change his mind and heart or else he won’t earn his wings and a wonderful life will be lost. 

I had always wondered where that whole “this is life if you were never born” theme came from; they’ve done it on The Simpsons, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, and a whole bunch of other films, but can you believe that I had never seen the film that it originated from… until tonight. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL FILM! Back in the 40s it was nominated for a whole bunch of Academy Awards but never won any. I think that the magic of this movie has only become more appreciated over the years, the more they show it on TV around Christmas time. But it really is a classic filled with wonderful performances, a beautiful story, and lovely strong messages about the wealth of friends and not currency. 

In the humble town of Bedford Falls, all the voices of the townspeople are praying for George Bailey; a local legend and greatly loved and appreciated man who has fallen victim to the burden of duty, morals, and self pity. In short, George has had a really bad day. The night before Christmas, angels look down to see George attempt suicide, finally overwhelmed by the burden of his unfulfilled dreams, broken promises, lost ambitions, and struggling moral spat with greedy town banker Mr. Potter. Defeated, George cries out “I wish I’d never been born” and a rookie angle named Clarence comes down to show George what life in Bedford Falls would be like without him. Clarence must convince George to change his mind and heart or else he won’t earn his wings and a wonderful life will be tragically lost. 

This really is a most wonderful and festive holiday classic that really hammers home those messages of the wealth of friends, the power of love, generosity, and charity, and the evilness of greed and currency. What I particularly love about the movie is how it documents the protagonist’s entire life up to the point of his attempted suicide, where the real story starts. We grow along with this character and see him learn, love, and live; we feel for him when he has his rough days, and there a few protagonists out there that cause us to really empathise with them. 

James Stewart’s performance as the leading man was absolutely breathtaking. He covered so many genres within the space of two hours, it was just exhilarating to behold. A wonderful balance of heroism, comedy, drama, suspense, defeat, defiance, anger, happiness, gratitude, and love, oh he was just beautiful and made me tear up. 

Starring Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, H.B Warner, Frank Albertson, Todd Karns, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Treen, and Virginia Patton, It’s a Wonderful Life is a breathtakingly beautiful and emotional movie that just sends the spirit soaring. Filled with romance, drama, comedy, divine intervention, freak outs, memorable performances, and backed by a truly wonderful story, it’s a film that might well rival The Nightmare Before Christmas or Christmas Carol as my holiday film of choice. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!