It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life: A Play in Two Acts | Philip Van Doren Stern, James W. Rodgers, Frank Capra

Team #MerryReaders! Please use this #TeamMovie post to discuss the movie through to the end of the month. Add any questions you might have for the team, and reply to others all through out this post. 5 points per comment! Please make sure to still make a post about watching the movie, so I can assign you the 20 points for that as well. #winterGames

Clwojick @jadams1776 @Shakespearience @Chili @Alora @AsYouWish @AnneFindsJoy @Emilymdxn @jerdencon @hes7 @TheAromaOfBooks @AmyK1 @InkBlotsAndCoffeeStains @veritysalter @jesstifies #MerryReaders #WinterGames 4y

Clwojick I guess the first thing I‘m curious about is how many of you guys have seen this movie before? If so how many times have you seen it, and is it a Christmas regular for you? 4y

Clwojick Personally, I‘ve never seen the movie before, but plan on watching it before the end of the month. I am a fan of black and white movies, and I‘ve heard great things, so I‘m glad that I finally have the perfect excuse/push to finally watch it. ♥️ 4y

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veritysalter I‘ve seen it before, but not for a number of years. I don‘t know how many times: I love it, but my heart belongs to Scrooge with Albert Finney. I‘m looking forward to watching it again. 4y

Jerdencon I‘ve seen it several times but not for a few years now. I‘ve always enjoyed it and have taken away different things at different times in my life 4y

Chili I‘ve seen it once before, a long time ago. There were parts I didn‘t remember so it was kind of like watching it for the first time. It‘s not one of my favorite holiday movies. I like Miracle on 34th Street more. 4y

AmyK1 I‘ve seen it before. We watch it every year. So I‘ve seen it...a lot 😉😂 4y

Jadams89 This was my first time watching the movie. It may become a Christmas staple for me though. 4y

AsYouWish I had seen it before multiple times. It is one of my mom‘s favorites so we used to watch it every year. In fact we all liked the movie so much fives of my cats growing up were named after characters in the movie. 4y

AsYouWish I found this article and thought it was interesting to know what Jimmy Stewart was going through before and during the making of the movie. https://www.movieguide.org/say-what/how-this-classic-christmas-movie-helped-heal... 4y

TheAromaofBooks I have seen it several times, although not for a few years. It's honestly not one of my favorites because despite the happy ending, the overall movie feels weirdly depressing. Fun fact: I was once in a community theater that put on the musical version of It's a Wonderful Life. We were short on men (as theater always is), so I played a female version of Ernie. 😆 4y

AmyK1 I can see how it comes across as depressing-probably because it focuses on how George feels about his life. 4y

AsYouWish I agree it is not one of my favorites anymore because as I grew up I paid more attention to the actual plot of the movie and realized how sad it actually was. I was reading some of the things the other team that watched the movie was saying and they were making some good points about why George felt so down about life. 4y

TheAromaofBooks Our family joke always used to be that It's a Mediocre Life But Better Than No Life 😁 4y

AsYouWish I didn‘t really make the connection until @veritysalter mention loving Scrooge, but how do you think this movie compares to A Christmas Carol? Both are visited by spirits (ghosts/angel), both have a greedy character (Scrooge/Mr. Potter).... 4y

AmyK1 Hmmm...that‘s an interesting thought. I think Scrooge has the bigger revelation/turn around. 4y

veritysalter It‘s a Wonderful Life was released in 1946 and Scrooge in 1950 - I find it interesting that Scrooge has less of a religious/Christian tone, although in both films the main character gains redemption through a spirit and an examination of their actions. This could be a reflection of a divide in US/English culture? Or an example of the ever secularising of Christmas? Do you agree? 4y

AmyK1 I‘m not sure @veritysalter It could be a reflection of how the books were written too. I‘ve never read the one It‘s a Wonderful Life is based on though I could since my husband just got it for Christmas. A Christmas Carol (the movie) is very close to how the book was written though. 4y

AsYouWish I agree with @AmyK1 in Scrooge did have more of a turn around and we got to see how he changes, he is more generous and kind. In It‘s A Wonderful Life, George tells us he wants to live and he will take joy in the life he has but then the movie ends and we are just left to believe that he will do this. 4y

AmyK1 I just read The Greatest Gift and it‘s quite a bit different from It‘s a Wonderful Life. The basic idea is there but the movie tells it differently. And the movie has more of a religious/Christian tone than the book, which really has almost none. I wonder if the movie be made so soon after the war had anything to do with it. 4y

AsYouWish I guess my next question would be, are we satisfied with how the movie ends? I would say for me I like the resolution of George‘s story, that he is going to accept his fate as the man who solves everyone‘s problems (wow, not how I meant that sentence to sound, but I think we know what I meant). However, I am not sure I feel completely satisfied because Mr. Potter didn‘t have a redemption moment, not that he should have, but what happened the next 4y

AsYouWish day? Did he accept that George wasn‘t arrested? Did he continue to be greedy and make other people‘s lives worse? So many questions I am left with..... 4y

AmyK1 I‘d like to think that Mr Potter was arrested (didn‘t he technically steal the $8000 and put out a false police report?) I do like how it ends as far as George is concerned. 4y

AsYouWish Yes, Mr. Potter did steal the money and try to get George arrested. I would also like to think that justice was done and that he was at least arrested. Then again does anyone know that he took it? 4y

AmyK1 His assistant knew he took it. 4y

AsYouWish Right, but do you think his assistant would rat him out and go to the police? 4y

AmyK1 I don‘t know...maybe seeing how everything worked out with George would have made him get a conscience and he‘d turn Mr Potter in. 4y

hes7 I completely meant to watch this movie this holiday season—for the points, plus I haven‘t seen it in years and it‘s a classic—but alas, I just ran out of time. ☹️ 4y

AsYouWish @AmyK1 Although part of me wants to believe that like Scrooge or The Grinch, Mr. Potter might have a change of heart and give it back and start doing the right thing or at least sort of become a decent person. And playing devil‘s advocate here, but I guess I have take the time period into account as well and Mr. Potter (and everyone) had just been through a war and the Great Depression, so maybe he was afraid of losing everything and this is why 4y

AsYouWish he is the way that he is. Maybe he is good deep, deep, deep down, he just forgot how to be good. Or maybe he is just a terrible person who doesn‘t get redemption or justice won‘t be seen when it comes to him. (edited) 4y

AmyK1 Yeah, I agree with you. I‘d like to think he turns things around but some people just never do and he might have been one character that never changes. 4y

veritysalter Going off on a tangent... If you could recast IAWL today, who would you pick? 4y

veritysalter Tom Hanks as George? Or would it need to be someone younger? @Clwojick @AmyK1 @AsYouWish (edited) 4y

AmyK1 I think it would need to be someone younger but I have no idea who would be good. @veritysalter 4y

AsYouWish @veritysalter Great question!! Tom Hanks would be good. I think Jon Hamm would also be a good George. For Clarence I would cast Morgan Freeman and Mary I would cast Bryce Dallas Howard. 4y

veritysalter Ooh Jon Hamm, that‘s a great choice, as is Morgan Freeman. 4y

AsYouWish I thought of Christopher Lloyd for Mr. Potter, I think he would be good in that role. 4y

AmyK1 I had to look up Jon Hamm-I don‘t watch a lot of TV or movies 😂😂 4y

AsYouWish @AmyK1 He is a good actor, I watched him a little on Mad Men, but he did a parody of another show for a comedy show and it is one of my favorite YouTube videos not all time!! He is really funny and charming so I think he could pull off being George, but he might be a bit older too. I couldn‘t think of many younger actors, that weren‘t too muscular for what I picture George to be and that would be old enough to have the age range of kids George has 4y

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