Lewis Tenenbaum’s review published on Letterboxd:
“Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.“
Finally, it’s my first great Christmas film of the 2022 holiday season! I can’t believe this is my first time watching this all-time classic. I was surprised that it isn’t even a Christmas film until about 40 minutes before the end.
James Stewart is the man. He’s such a likeable presence and brings the role of George Bailey to life. Donna Reed is also a sublime presence and I would enjoy putting up Christmas decorations with her any time. With light humour contrasting against the serious themes, there’s lots to enjoy here.
It’s interesting watching this so many years after it’s release, since I’ve seen parts of It’s a Wonderful Life parodies so much. I’m looking at The Simpsons in particular here. It’s truly a warm comfort blanket of a motion picture, so it’s not surprisingly that it’s been jibed with such affection over the years.
There’s not much else I can say that hasn’t been said many thousands of times before. It’s great.
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