The 1930’s are slowly killing me inside.
This week’s undertaking brought me straight to 1938 – Frank Capra’s You Can’t Take It With You starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Larry Barrymore. Alice (Arthur), the only “normal” member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby (Stewart). His wealthy banker father and his snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things do not turn out the way Alice had hoped.
I guess for 1938 it was “zany” and “eccentric”? This one didn’t hold my attention as much as I had hoped, but it did flow smoother than All Quiet on the Western Front did, and that’s all in thanks to Capra and his ace directing. I absolutely loved It Happened One Night – Capra has a unique way of capturing the charm of these Golden Age Hollywood greats. It’s just that in this particular film, I wasn’t so connected with Stewart, Arthur or their characters. The whole “stuffy in-laws” is also a belabored plot device that I’ve seen countless times, so there’s that too. It Happened One Night was just a stronger movie all around.
But hey – that’s not to say that the Sycamore family wasn’t entertaining – they were a gang of misfits who all accepted each other for who they were. They danced, they made things, they accepted others – even way back in 1938. They had a nice dynamic – I just wish there was a little more magic between Stewart and Arthur (there were way better leading ladies at the time).
I have 32 movies left. That seems like a lot. Send help.
I had high hopes for this one after seeing It happened one night (it is now my favorite romantic comedy, tough I have not seen many so there is that). This was just kind of boring and it was difficult to care about anybody (and I have never really liked Stewart) but it is not bad. But you did not grade this!
But anyway I am really happy that you are continuing to see these. I myself started similar quest at the beginning of the last year and I have only about 20 to go but then there was school and then I got Netflix, so this is the last Best Picture I have seen. It was early spring so I guess I should watch another one soon. And did you ever saw Argo? I am too lazy to look.
But anyway keep watching and pick something more modern next time so you do not get bored. But if you watch something else from 30s it should be Gone With The Wind. it it possibly my favorite movie ever and you will love it (unless you have no taste) even tough is long!
But sorry for the long post, you probably do not care what I think but I was bored 🙂
I’m glad you felt the same about this – I sort of felt like I was missing something, but like you said, I just thought it was a bit boring and the characters were hard to care for. I didn’t grade this one (or All Quiet on the Western Front) because I feel like it’s a little unfair to grade them based on their age. Although I didn’t enjoy either of them, I felt it was a little unfair to grade them poorly.
I did see Argo and I loved it!
I need to see Gone with the Wind very soon! I’ll bump that up in my queue. Any other recommendations for me?
Thanks for reading and commenting!