Posted by
Ed Lilly on Sunday, December 21, 2008 8:03:53 AM
Christmas is only a few days away, which probably means that "It's a Wonderful Life" will be on network TV one of these nights. Or perhaps it was already on and I missed it. We have the DVD, and I've seen it so many times already that I know most of the dialogue, so I'm not too worried if I don't see it this year. In fact, I heard an hour long old-time radio version on XM on the way home from work the other day. It was ok - with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed both performing, and possible some of the children from the movie. The radio version was done in the spring of 1947, after the movie had come out. In cramming it into an hour, I think they wound up eliminating Violet entirely from the story.
What really has me thinking about "It's a Wonderful Life," though, is my recollection that my dad really does not like the movie. I have never discussed with him why he dislikes it. It was just something either he or my mom noted in passing a few years ago. I meant to ask him about it when they were here for the big "Mom's Birthday (she'll appreciate top billing), Family Trip to NYC for American Girl and Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show" weekend, but forgot until they were already headed back to the snows of the midwest.
Then yesterday, my lovely told me there was a big story in the NY Times by a guy who hates "It's a Wonderful Life." Here's a blurb for flavor:
“It’s a Wonderful Life” is a terrifying, asphyxiating story about
growing up and relinquishing your dreams, of seeing your father driven
to the grave before his time, of living among bitter, small-minded
people. It is a story of being trapped, of compromising, of watching
others move ahead and away, of becoming so filled with rage that you
verbally abuse your children, their teacher and your oppressively
perfect wife. It is also a nightmare account of an endless home
renovation.
Now, to be fair to the author, I think the story is actually kind of a balanced piece. The quote above appears to be his impression of the movie as a 15 year old when he first saw it at his high school, though there is much more to the critique, including:
Soon enough, though, the darkness sets in. George’s brother, Harry
(Todd Karns), almost drowns in a childhood accident; Mr. Gower, a
pharmacist, nearly poisons a sick child; and then George, a head taller
than everyone else, becomes the pathetic older sibling creepily hanging
around Harry’s high school graduation party. That night George
humiliates his future wife, Mary (Donna Reed), by forcing her to hide behind a bush naked, and the evening ends with his father’s sudden death.
Disappointments pile up. George can’t go to college because of his
obligation to run the Bailey Building and Loan, and instead sends
Harry. But Harry returns a slick, self-obsessed jerk, cannily getting
out of his responsibility to help with the family business, by marrying
a woman whose dad gives him a job. George again treats Mary cruelly,
this time by chewing her out and bringing her to tears before kissing
her. It is hard to understand precisely what she sees in him.
George is further emasculated when his bad hearing keeps him out of
World War II, and then it’s Christmas Eve 1945. These scenes — rather
than the subsequent Bizarro-world alternate reality — have always been
the film’s defining moments for me. All the decades of anger boil to
the surface.
Pretty gloomy when you think of it this way.
So, now I'll await my dad's firing up the iMac, clicking through to the NY Times story, and sending me his version of why "It's a Wonderful Life" is not a movie he likes. Should be interesting.