Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this classic is both sweet and knowing. Teens will love it as an engaging story that takes on the human condition in all its complexity. It features a witty screenplay and a grand old score. See it in its original, glorious black and white. Younger kids may be drawn in by George as a youth.
Families who watch this film may want to discuss its more disturbing aspects. For instance, George contemplates suicide because he thinks he failed in his life. Families may want to talk about how each family member enhances each person's life and discuss how to show that every day.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Randy White
George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) has big plans, but his even bigger heart keeps him from leaving his hometown. When George wishes he were never born, an angel shows him the tremendous impact he has had on his community. No matter how often you see this perennial Christmas favorite, you will be entranced. Flawless.
Frank Capra's bittersweet, heartwarming movie about a man who comes to realize the value of his own life has been a Christmas favorite for years. Indeed, it has become such a familiar part of the holiday landscape that those who have never seen it might dismiss it as "Capra-corn," sentimental and syrupy.
In fact, the movie's vision is that of a dark-edged world in which heroes are necessary. George discovers that his existence has saved his community from the cruelty of robber barons and, more importantly, from its own greed and shortsightedness.
Made just after the war, this movie was a favorite for both leading man Jimmy Stewart and director Frank Capra. And it's easy to see why. There's a delightful song and dance sequence, visually witty moments like the dance floor that converts into a swimming pool during a feverish Charleston competition, and sophisticated dialogue. Stewart gives the performance of a lifetime. Alternately affable and bitter, he is the movie's little-man hero. And if the movie is about broken dreams, it's conclusion is that these broken dreams can turn out to be a blessing.
A (precocious) 8-year-old boy was entranced by the story, but he asked for plot clarification several times. And a 16-year-old girl laughed a lot and had tears in her eyes at the movie's conclusion. George's battle cry of "I want to do something big, something important!" was the 16-year-old's favorite line.
Miracle on 34th Street, another in the holiday pantheon, has a somewhat lighter tone. Families may also enjoy A Christmas Carol, wherein ghosts, not angels, show a man his life.
Rate It!
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual ContentA naked woman in a shrubbery. Nothing is seen and it's very funny. |
 |
|
|
|
ViolenceGunshots. A short fist fight. For a brief moment, George knocks over the furniture and loses his temper. It's a tough scene when George is slapped by Mr. Bower. |
 |
|
|
|
Language |
|
|
|
|
Message |
|
|
|
|
Social BehaviorThe movie conveys an important message about the value of an individual life and how one person's actions affect all those around him. It's 1946, and George's younger brother chases their black maid, trying to grab her butt. While she is treated warmly by the family, it is clear she is a servant and a subordinate. |
 |
 |
|
|
Commercialism |
 |
|
|
|
Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco |
|
|
|
|
