It's a Wonderful Life (1946) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction
Added 2023-12-18 22:14:13 +0000 UTCHappy Monday everyone! Sorry, I meant to record this last night but it had to be pushed to first thing this morning. A truly beautiful way to kick off my day AND the week leading up to Christmas, to be honest. I really hope you enjoy this reaction and can't wait to talk to you about this movie! Thank you for everything! [Direct link here.]
✦ KL
Comments
A couple of tidbits I found out a couple of years ago from other commenters, the scene where they threw the rocks through the windows of their future house was done by the actors themselves and Donna Reed hit her window on the first try. They thought they might have to fake it beforehand, but I think they said she played on her softball team in college and she hit the window, no problem. The other thing was the scene when Harry came home from college married and they took that picture on the front porch and then Uncle Billy wandered off drunk and you hear a crash, that wasn't planned. A stagehand dropped something or knocked something over and the actor played it off by yelling "I'm ALRIGHT! I'm ALLLRIGHT!" and they kept it in. You watch Jimmy Stewart at that moment and he giggles a bit.
Thadman
2023-12-25 13:05:59 +0000 UTCJust finished the watch-along and I've watched this movie almost every year since I was a kid. I'm in my mid-50s now and the older I get, the more of an impact it has and I loved it even as a kid. I guess it was the slight supernatural tinge through it and that sort of harsh scene in the cemetery that used to be Bailey Park, but as I became an adult, the sentimentality hit me deeper as I understand George's life more fully and how he felt and this time, with this watch-along, I cried more times in it than I think I've ever done before. It's funny that when I was younger, I never cried. I did as a little kid, like all kids, but after my freshman year of high school when I was physically bullied in an incident, I never cried, probably for about two decades. Now, I cry at the drop of a hat, basically, when I see movies or shows or hear certain songs. It's embarrassing. ;-) Things just hit me harder and I don't exactly know why, but it is what it is. I'm so glad you really liked it. I've said for decades, at this point, when someone asks what your favorite Christmas movie is that there's no contest for me, "It's a Wonderful Life." Now that I'm crying even more over it, don't think that opinion is gonna change any time soon.
Thadman
2023-12-25 12:58:47 +0000 UTCOh cool, thanks for that!
kaiielle
2023-12-20 20:57:36 +0000 UTCThank you so much!!
kaiielle
2023-12-20 20:57:20 +0000 UTCJust finished the watch-along. One note about the power of the character actor… Frank Albertson, who played — hee-haw — Sam Wainwright in this movie was also… …Tom Cassidy, the lecherous homebuyer from whom Marion Crane steals $40,000 in PSYCHO.
Jason Chirevas
2023-12-19 09:24:46 +0000 UTCJust finished watching the reaction. You were literally smiling through a huge chunk of that movie as I do every year. I enjoyed watching it with my children and seeing them react. Now to witness someone else take in the story and the message, gosh what a Christmas present you gave us this year KL. I’m glad you liked it. It was nice you could appreciate the financial plot beats too. I agree it’s very hard to process how others see you, especially when you consider what’s in your own head. We are our worst critics. But I take this movie’s message to heart every year. Thanks for putting this on the poll. Gosh, I’m still smiling. 😄
Bryan Dempsey
2023-12-19 05:55:21 +0000 UTCThat's funny. The film IS very anti-capitalist and I'm sure back then it might have rubbed people the wrong way because it was before the economic booms we've had, but watching this film from this current time we're in of late-stage capitalism and how we are basically living through a Silent Depression right now, Potter is def a realistic AF villain and bad guy. And it hits different.
kaiielle
2023-12-19 02:29:45 +0000 UTCOne of the main criticisms was that it was too maudlin. It is intentionally sentimental for some important reasons. Capra had been hired to make propaganda films during WW2. He saw firsthand how awful it all was. So after that he wanted to make a movie that could give people hope. (It was also flagged as a pro communism film because of the themes involved)
Brian Settles
2023-12-19 02:24:48 +0000 UTCThat's so crazy to me that this movie didn't work for people when it first released.
kaiielle
2023-12-18 22:52:55 +0000 UTCThis is the classic example of a film that was initially a complete bomb at the box office, in addition to being critically dismissed, becoming an absolute classic decades after its release. It's...wonderful!
William
2023-12-18 22:43:56 +0000 UTCI'd call this a sappy and sentimental movie though. 😅 Unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying!
kaiielle
2023-12-18 22:35:46 +0000 UTCI haven’t watched along in a while but I may have to with this one. It’s a Wonderful Life is THE movie people assume they’ve seen, assume is sappy and sentimental, and, as KL now knows, are dead wrong.
Jason Chirevas
2023-12-18 22:24:55 +0000 UTC
