A couple weeks ago, the Al & Al show came to visit my parents' house to screen It's a Wonderful Life, No. 11 on the AFI's top 100 list. I happen to know a little about the movie, so I volunteered to host.
Cati came bearing cheese. Bob and Tracy arrived with cocktail knowledge. Alex and Allison brought some excellent speechifying on future cool Watch This events. And I provided the DVD and the liquor. (It's a Wonderful Life is a far drinkier movie than one might suspect.) Good times were had!
And now the Watch This post about the evening is out, so you should go read that. You should also try to attend one of their screenings before the year is up!
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
12.01.2010
1.04.2009
Wonderful Life, part ten: "And a Happy New Year to you - in jail!"
George Bailey prayed to be allowed to live again, and it started snowing and his mouth started bleeding and Zuzu's petals came back and scary (or awesome, depending on how you see it) Pottersville receded into the mists, never to be heard from again! What does George think of all this?
"YAY!" he screams, seeing the sign welcoming him back to Bedford Falls. (Who actually shouts "YAY!"? Not says, not squeals, but actually, full-throatedly shouts it? Try screaming that word at the top of your lungs sometime. You will be stared at.)
It's close to midnight on Christmas Eve, and Potter is still in his office, alone. George, on his joyous spree down Bedford Falls' main drag, wishes him Merry Christmas, and Potter crabs that George can have a happy holiday in the clink. And that's the last we see of Potter outside that SNL sketch - a sad old man working alone on a holiday and taking bitter pleasure in being the cause of another man's misfortune. An unrepentant Scrooge. Good riddance to him.
Off George runs home, where some stern-looking men are waiting for him. "I'll bet that's a warrant for my arrest," he enthuses. "Isn't it wonderful? I'm going to jail!" (And, in fact, he probably is, even in light of what happens next.) George is happy to see his kids and all, but who he REALLY wants to see is Mary. Which is fitting, because while he was wrestling with life, the universe and everything, Mary was out saving his sorry butt.
She's back now, and you know what happens - the entire town pours in, and just as George once gave away nearly every dollar he had to give Bedford Falls some measure of freedom, they empty their wallets so he's not taken away from them. Everyone tells him how they dug even deeper for him: Martini broke into his own jukebox; Gower called in all his charge accounts. Violet Bick comes in and returns the money the B&L had lent her earlier that day: like George, she's going to sacrifice for the town, because George is the town now.
And then comes a telegram from Sam Wainwright, who is in Europe and whom George failed to reach in his earlier desperation. Luckily, Gower was slightly more persistent: "Mr. Gower cables you need cash STOP My office instructed to advance you up to twenty-five thousand dollars STOP Hee-Haw and Merry Christmas Sam Wainwright."
There's pandemonium in the Bailey house: Mr. Bank Examiner even tosses a few bills onto the pile, and the sheriff tears up the arrest warrant for some reason. The entrance of Harry Bailey, football star and war hero, is almost unnoticed. And tonight, he's OK with that. "To my big brother George - the richest man in town!"
(Aw, jeez, here are those pesky tears again!)
Also, Clarence leaves George a note: he got his wings! Now he can watch home movies of George Bailey whenever he wants! Do you think he can also watch alternate-reality versions - not just It's a Miserable Pottersville, but, like, It's a Wonderful Steampunk Life or It's a Wonderful Life (Even Though the Confederate Army Won the Civil War)? Man, being an angel sounds awesome.
And before Mary can ask who the heck this "very dear friend" of George's is whom she's never heard of even though he only knows people within a 10-mile radius of their house, Zuzu says something cute and the movie ends.
And so has this little series! Thanks for indulging me for the duration. (Thanks also to Mike and AE for their regular comments and helpful links - the script was especially invaluable, Mike.) Happy Epiphany, everyone!
"YAY!" he screams, seeing the sign welcoming him back to Bedford Falls. (Who actually shouts "YAY!"? Not says, not squeals, but actually, full-throatedly shouts it? Try screaming that word at the top of your lungs sometime. You will be stared at.)
It's close to midnight on Christmas Eve, and Potter is still in his office, alone. George, on his joyous spree down Bedford Falls' main drag, wishes him Merry Christmas, and Potter crabs that George can have a happy holiday in the clink. And that's the last we see of Potter outside that SNL sketch - a sad old man working alone on a holiday and taking bitter pleasure in being the cause of another man's misfortune. An unrepentant Scrooge. Good riddance to him.
Off George runs home, where some stern-looking men are waiting for him. "I'll bet that's a warrant for my arrest," he enthuses. "Isn't it wonderful? I'm going to jail!" (And, in fact, he probably is, even in light of what happens next.) George is happy to see his kids and all, but who he REALLY wants to see is Mary. Which is fitting, because while he was wrestling with life, the universe and everything, Mary was out saving his sorry butt.
She's back now, and you know what happens - the entire town pours in, and just as George once gave away nearly every dollar he had to give Bedford Falls some measure of freedom, they empty their wallets so he's not taken away from them. Everyone tells him how they dug even deeper for him: Martini broke into his own jukebox; Gower called in all his charge accounts. Violet Bick comes in and returns the money the B&L had lent her earlier that day: like George, she's going to sacrifice for the town, because George is the town now.
And then comes a telegram from Sam Wainwright, who is in Europe and whom George failed to reach in his earlier desperation. Luckily, Gower was slightly more persistent: "Mr. Gower cables you need cash STOP My office instructed to advance you up to twenty-five thousand dollars STOP Hee-Haw and Merry Christmas Sam Wainwright."
There's pandemonium in the Bailey house: Mr. Bank Examiner even tosses a few bills onto the pile, and the sheriff tears up the arrest warrant for some reason. The entrance of Harry Bailey, football star and war hero, is almost unnoticed. And tonight, he's OK with that. "To my big brother George - the richest man in town!"
(Aw, jeez, here are those pesky tears again!)
Also, Clarence leaves George a note: he got his wings! Now he can watch home movies of George Bailey whenever he wants! Do you think he can also watch alternate-reality versions - not just It's a Miserable Pottersville, but, like, It's a Wonderful Steampunk Life or It's a Wonderful Life (Even Though the Confederate Army Won the Civil War)? Man, being an angel sounds awesome.
And before Mary can ask who the heck this "very dear friend" of George's is whom she's never heard of even though he only knows people within a 10-mile radius of their house, Zuzu says something cute and the movie ends.
And so has this little series! Thanks for indulging me for the duration. (Thanks also to Mike and AE for their regular comments and helpful links - the script was especially invaluable, Mike.) Happy Epiphany, everyone!
1.03.2009
Wonderful Life, part nine: "Better keep an eye on this guy. He's bats!"
George Bailey and Clarence Oddbody have just been thrown out of Nick's Place (formerly Martini's). George is like, seriously, buddy, what the heck is going on here? And Clarence just repeats the same thing he's said about a hundred times tonight: "You've been given a great gift, George - a chance to see what the world would be like without you."
All of George's identifying papers and characteristics have disappeared - his driver's license, his deaf ear, his life insurance policy, his sore lip from that sock to the mouth earlier, his daughter's flower petals. At this rate, I'm kinda surprised his clothes didn't disappear as well, because he wasn't around to buy them, after all. He's pretty sure only the sweet embrace of his hot wife will cure this madness (which, good plan, I guess), so he runs off to get a cab home. Clarence glances up at the sky and says, "How am I doing, Joseph? ... Thanks! ... No, I didn't have a drink!"
... Oh. So it's that kind of heaven.
George reaches Bedford Falls' main drag, which has become the Pottersville Strip. Blah, blah, casinos, bars, strip clubs. We're focusing on the former B&L, which has become a "dance hall" that's being raided by the Pottersville 5-0 while a big crowd gawks. Among the girls struggling with the cops: Violet Bick. George is like, wait a second - I know that girl! And the crowd goes, "Yeah, I bet you do, wink wink, nudge nudge, 'he said with a knowing expression.' "
George can't help Violet, so he just hails Ernie's cab for a ride home. Ernie is freaked out by George's seeming knowledge of his life (minus the part where he doesn't own a house and his wife left him) and request to go to an address that doesn't exist, so he waves his arm for Bert to follow him in his cruiser.
(Side note: what would it have been like to go driving around in the '40s and see all the big modern cars tooling around with Model T's? It'd be like if by 2020, all new cars were made along the lines of a Smart car, and they all went zipping about with our 1990s Camrys alongside.)
So they all arrive at George's former house, which is of course even more dilapidated than it was on his wedding night because it's had 10 more years of exposure to the elements. It's kind of amazing it wasn't just pulled down to build another bordello, really. Clarence is there, saying AGAIN, what did you expect? You've never been born, dummy!
Bert the cop comes in and is actually nice to George for a bit: "Look, now, why don't you be a good kid and we'll take you to a doctor?" But George struggles, and Clarence jumps in and bites Bert (!) so George can get away, and then Joseph intervenes and Clarence vanishes into thin air. (The lesson: biting policemen is all right once you're dead.)
George has run off to his mother's boarding house (I think she ran a boarding house in Bedford Falls, but I'm not sure), where he learns that she's kind of a jerk and Uncle Billy has been in an insane asylum ever since the B&L went under. (Remember, in Pottersville they've got no time for forgetful, bumbling "characters.")
There's just enough time for a trip to the cemetery to confirm that Harry Bailey, dashing football star and war hero, died at the age of 9 ("Every man on that transport died - Harry wasn't there to save them because you weren't there to save Harry."), and then it's off to see Mary. Whose fate, Clarence seems to think from the way he hesitates to tell George about it, is far worse than that of Harry and of the soldiers he wasn't there to save.
Yes, drowning in freezing water and burning in jet fuel is nothing compared to being a spinster librarian. Who wears glasses. (But then again, when Clarence was alive, women were only counted as full people for census-taking purposes, and that's if they weren't slaves.)
George runs up to Mary and grabs her, and of course she is freaked out, because who knows what can happen to women who walk alone at night in Pottersville. But you can say this about the town: If a shrieking woman runs into a bar pursued by a crazed man who insists she's his wife, the townspeople do not turn a blind eye. No, they hold that man back.
(Time for my big aside: I think the respective fates of Mary and Violet show that Pottersville is a place where women don't have many options. Violet didn't have George Bailey to give her a loan so she could try to make a go of it as a successful single woman; instead, the town flirt became one of many town prostitutes. Mary saw what happened to Violet and to so many women in Pottersville, so she buttoned herself up, closed herself off to all pleasure, and probably stopped drinking bathtub gin.
That's why the movie portrays being a single librarian as worse than being a sexy housewife - because Librarian Mary is a prude, probably because she's afraid of what would happen to her if she weren't. She was clearly not headed for the bar once the library shut down - in fact, I'll bet she keeps it open until like midnight on Christmas Eve as an excuse to not meet her sad former classmates for drinks, because she knows Violet will be in the clink by 11:30 most nights. Clearly, making out with Jimmy Stewart on a regular basis is better than constantly fearing street danger and having no friends, even if you do have to deal with listening to constant piano practice.)
OK, back to the movie! George tries to run off and find Clarence again, but first he has to dodge a few bullets from Bert, who has apparently decided that he is John McClane and this fleeing, unarmed craze-o is Hans Gruber and therefore must be taken out with extreme prejudice - never mind that the streets are crowded with (basically) innocent bystanders. But George gets away and runs back to the bridge, where he prays to live again.
(Last aside about Pottersville: isn't it funny how you never see Potter himself there? It's just like him to bring in all these businesses that make money hand over fist based on physical pleasures like drinking and dancing, but eschew such pleasures himself. I can almost see him now, laughing at the rabble whose lack of discipline makes him richer every night.)
Up next: the big finish!
(on to Part 10)
All of George's identifying papers and characteristics have disappeared - his driver's license, his deaf ear, his life insurance policy, his sore lip from that sock to the mouth earlier, his daughter's flower petals. At this rate, I'm kinda surprised his clothes didn't disappear as well, because he wasn't around to buy them, after all. He's pretty sure only the sweet embrace of his hot wife will cure this madness (which, good plan, I guess), so he runs off to get a cab home. Clarence glances up at the sky and says, "How am I doing, Joseph? ... Thanks! ... No, I didn't have a drink!"
... Oh. So it's that kind of heaven.
George reaches Bedford Falls' main drag, which has become the Pottersville Strip. Blah, blah, casinos, bars, strip clubs. We're focusing on the former B&L, which has become a "dance hall" that's being raided by the Pottersville 5-0 while a big crowd gawks. Among the girls struggling with the cops: Violet Bick. George is like, wait a second - I know that girl! And the crowd goes, "Yeah, I bet you do, wink wink, nudge nudge, 'he said with a knowing expression.' "
George can't help Violet, so he just hails Ernie's cab for a ride home. Ernie is freaked out by George's seeming knowledge of his life (minus the part where he doesn't own a house and his wife left him) and request to go to an address that doesn't exist, so he waves his arm for Bert to follow him in his cruiser.
(Side note: what would it have been like to go driving around in the '40s and see all the big modern cars tooling around with Model T's? It'd be like if by 2020, all new cars were made along the lines of a Smart car, and they all went zipping about with our 1990s Camrys alongside.)
So they all arrive at George's former house, which is of course even more dilapidated than it was on his wedding night because it's had 10 more years of exposure to the elements. It's kind of amazing it wasn't just pulled down to build another bordello, really. Clarence is there, saying AGAIN, what did you expect? You've never been born, dummy!
Bert the cop comes in and is actually nice to George for a bit: "Look, now, why don't you be a good kid and we'll take you to a doctor?" But George struggles, and Clarence jumps in and bites Bert (!) so George can get away, and then Joseph intervenes and Clarence vanishes into thin air. (The lesson: biting policemen is all right once you're dead.)
George has run off to his mother's boarding house (I think she ran a boarding house in Bedford Falls, but I'm not sure), where he learns that she's kind of a jerk and Uncle Billy has been in an insane asylum ever since the B&L went under. (Remember, in Pottersville they've got no time for forgetful, bumbling "characters.")
There's just enough time for a trip to the cemetery to confirm that Harry Bailey, dashing football star and war hero, died at the age of 9 ("Every man on that transport died - Harry wasn't there to save them because you weren't there to save Harry."), and then it's off to see Mary. Whose fate, Clarence seems to think from the way he hesitates to tell George about it, is far worse than that of Harry and of the soldiers he wasn't there to save.
Yes, drowning in freezing water and burning in jet fuel is nothing compared to being a spinster librarian. Who wears glasses. (But then again, when Clarence was alive, women were only counted as full people for census-taking purposes, and that's if they weren't slaves.)
George runs up to Mary and grabs her, and of course she is freaked out, because who knows what can happen to women who walk alone at night in Pottersville. But you can say this about the town: If a shrieking woman runs into a bar pursued by a crazed man who insists she's his wife, the townspeople do not turn a blind eye. No, they hold that man back.
(Time for my big aside: I think the respective fates of Mary and Violet show that Pottersville is a place where women don't have many options. Violet didn't have George Bailey to give her a loan so she could try to make a go of it as a successful single woman; instead, the town flirt became one of many town prostitutes. Mary saw what happened to Violet and to so many women in Pottersville, so she buttoned herself up, closed herself off to all pleasure, and probably stopped drinking bathtub gin.
That's why the movie portrays being a single librarian as worse than being a sexy housewife - because Librarian Mary is a prude, probably because she's afraid of what would happen to her if she weren't. She was clearly not headed for the bar once the library shut down - in fact, I'll bet she keeps it open until like midnight on Christmas Eve as an excuse to not meet her sad former classmates for drinks, because she knows Violet will be in the clink by 11:30 most nights. Clearly, making out with Jimmy Stewart on a regular basis is better than constantly fearing street danger and having no friends, even if you do have to deal with listening to constant piano practice.)
OK, back to the movie! George tries to run off and find Clarence again, but first he has to dodge a few bullets from Bert, who has apparently decided that he is John McClane and this fleeing, unarmed craze-o is Hans Gruber and therefore must be taken out with extreme prejudice - never mind that the streets are crowded with (basically) innocent bystanders. But George gets away and runs back to the bridge, where he prays to live again.
(Last aside about Pottersville: isn't it funny how you never see Potter himself there? It's just like him to bring in all these businesses that make money hand over fist based on physical pleasures like drinking and dancing, but eschew such pleasures himself. I can almost see him now, laughing at the rabble whose lack of discipline makes him richer every night.)
Up next: the big finish!
(on to Part 10)
1.02.2009
Wonderful Life, part eight: "Out you two pixies go, out the door or through the window!"
(Sorry about the long delay in posting - holidays, you know. I should have started this series back in September when Target started stocking its Christmas stuff.)
It's so weird how the mind works, isn't it? One minute George Bailey's thinking about jumping into the freezing river to drown himself; the next he's jumping in to save someone else from drowning.
(You can say this about Clarence Oddbody: he might have the IQ of a rabbit, but he understands how George Bailey ticks. Of course he'd put off ending his miserable existence if it meant saving somebody else. Suicide is selfish, which is the opposite of George; it's a testament to the grind of decades spent doing just what he hates most that he even got around to contemplating it on this, the most desperate day of his life.)
So George fishes Clarence out of the drink, and they find shelter in ... I always think it's a lighthouse, but I'm pretty sure it's actually the bridge's tollhouse. Now begins the Wacky Hijinks of Clarence going around telling anyone who'll listen (which is basically nobody) that he's a 200-year-old angel who fell from Heaven, and it's no wonder he hasn't got his wings yet, because he comes off so dotty that George "The Martyr from Bedford" Bailey is clearly considering tossing him back in the river just so he'll shut up.
Anyway, George wishes he'd never been born, Clarence goes, "Done," and the snow stops, because 40 years ago baby George Bailey suddenly didn't sneeze, and the effects are still being felt.
Here comes the part of the movie that everyone knows: Pottersville. Certain people out there seem to believe that it "rocks," but I think Pottersville is a little like Las Vegas - sure, it looks like fun to visit, but you don't really think about the people who have to live there. We'll get to that, but first I want to point out how sad I am that we never really get to see much of Clarence's wacky colonial threads beyond his Ebenezer Scrooge underwear; it looks like he might have snagged some contemporary threads at the tollhouse.
George and Clarence's first stop in the new George-less world: that tree where he crashed his car. Huh, that's so weird - the car seems to have been towed, and the gash in the tree is healed, and the guy who owns the tree seems to think he lives in "Pottersville." Oh, well - nothing a drink at Martini's won't fix.
Martini is nowhere to be found at the bar, which is rowdier than we remember, but barkeep Nick (surlier than we remember) sets up George with a drink and then turns to Clarence. Clarence asks for any variety of ridiculous beverages and gets none of them, and Nick is starting to get a funny feeling about this pair, and then Clarence talks about being an angel and that is just IT for Nick. I'm pretty sure he thinks they're gay, actually - this is also right after George asks Clarence if he has A) anywhere to sleep, and B) any money. (For years, I thought he tossed them out because he heard George call Clarence "angel," but that's actually from something else.)
Just then, old man Gower walks in, a drunken beggar. George is like, dude hasn't looked this bad since that day he almost killed that boy, and Nick is like, whaddya mean, almost? "That rumhead spent 20 years in jail for poisoning a kid. If you know him, you must be a jailbird yourself!" And with that, Nick tosses the jailbird and his flaming-rum-punch-ordering angel friend out.
So now we know what Pottersville is like if you're poor, an immmigrant (something about the way the movie emphasizes Martini's Italian-ness makes me think it's a big factor in his not getting the loan for the bar), gay or a nonconformist in general ("We don't need any characters around to give the joint atmosphere!").
Up next: what Potterville is like for women.
(on to Part 9)
It's so weird how the mind works, isn't it? One minute George Bailey's thinking about jumping into the freezing river to drown himself; the next he's jumping in to save someone else from drowning.
(You can say this about Clarence Oddbody: he might have the IQ of a rabbit, but he understands how George Bailey ticks. Of course he'd put off ending his miserable existence if it meant saving somebody else. Suicide is selfish, which is the opposite of George; it's a testament to the grind of decades spent doing just what he hates most that he even got around to contemplating it on this, the most desperate day of his life.)
So George fishes Clarence out of the drink, and they find shelter in ... I always think it's a lighthouse, but I'm pretty sure it's actually the bridge's tollhouse. Now begins the Wacky Hijinks of Clarence going around telling anyone who'll listen (which is basically nobody) that he's a 200-year-old angel who fell from Heaven, and it's no wonder he hasn't got his wings yet, because he comes off so dotty that George "The Martyr from Bedford" Bailey is clearly considering tossing him back in the river just so he'll shut up.
Anyway, George wishes he'd never been born, Clarence goes, "Done," and the snow stops, because 40 years ago baby George Bailey suddenly didn't sneeze, and the effects are still being felt.
Here comes the part of the movie that everyone knows: Pottersville. Certain people out there seem to believe that it "rocks," but I think Pottersville is a little like Las Vegas - sure, it looks like fun to visit, but you don't really think about the people who have to live there. We'll get to that, but first I want to point out how sad I am that we never really get to see much of Clarence's wacky colonial threads beyond his Ebenezer Scrooge underwear; it looks like he might have snagged some contemporary threads at the tollhouse.
George and Clarence's first stop in the new George-less world: that tree where he crashed his car. Huh, that's so weird - the car seems to have been towed, and the gash in the tree is healed, and the guy who owns the tree seems to think he lives in "Pottersville." Oh, well - nothing a drink at Martini's won't fix.
Martini is nowhere to be found at the bar, which is rowdier than we remember, but barkeep Nick (surlier than we remember) sets up George with a drink and then turns to Clarence. Clarence asks for any variety of ridiculous beverages and gets none of them, and Nick is starting to get a funny feeling about this pair, and then Clarence talks about being an angel and that is just IT for Nick. I'm pretty sure he thinks they're gay, actually - this is also right after George asks Clarence if he has A) anywhere to sleep, and B) any money. (For years, I thought he tossed them out because he heard George call Clarence "angel," but that's actually from something else.)
Just then, old man Gower walks in, a drunken beggar. George is like, dude hasn't looked this bad since that day he almost killed that boy, and Nick is like, whaddya mean, almost? "That rumhead spent 20 years in jail for poisoning a kid. If you know him, you must be a jailbird yourself!" And with that, Nick tosses the jailbird and his flaming-rum-punch-ordering angel friend out.
So now we know what Pottersville is like if you're poor, an immmigrant (something about the way the movie emphasizes Martini's Italian-ness makes me think it's a big factor in his not getting the loan for the bar), gay or a nonconformist in general ("We don't need any characters around to give the joint atmosphere!").
Up next: what Potterville is like for women.
(on to Part 9)
12.22.2008
Wonderful Life, part seven: "You're worth more dead than alive!"
It's Christmas Eve, and Bedford Falls is buzzing about Harry Bailey, who's coming home just as soon as the President gives him the Congressional Medal of Honor. At the bank, Uncle Billy gloats to Potter, who asks if George wouldn't rather be the one who traveled to far-off places and fought the Axis. (Potter understands everything about George except his basic decency. He certainly understands his tight finances, which is what he'll be testing today.)
Anyway, Uncle Billy gives Potter the paper so he can read about Harry, but fails to notice that he's folded up his bank deposit of $8,000 inside that paper. Potter watches from his corner office (he took over the bank on George's wedding day, remember) as Uncle Billy fumbles for the money at the teller's window, then races frantically about the lobby. If I were Potter, I'd be wondering why I didn't go after Uncle Billy sooner; he's always been the weak link in that partnership.
It's so weird how the very day Uncle Billy loses all their money is the day the bank examiner is auditing the Building and Loan. It's also the day Violet Bick comes in asking for a loan so she can move to New York and make her fortune. She apologizes to George because she has no collateral and few prospects, but he tells her the same thing he tells all his neighbors: he knows her, knows she's a good person, and he's sure she'll pay him back in her own time. She kisses his cheek, leaving a lipstick stain that the bank examiner stares at pointedly.
(I'm emphasizing this part, by the way, because I think it's going to be important to understand the options women have in Bedford Falls as opposed to ... other places.)
Uncle Billy bursts in, staring into corners and shuffling papers like he expects to find thousands of dollars in cash in them (but it is Uncle Billy, so you never know). George is like "Dude, will you just act like a normal person while the bank examiner is here?" and Billy freaks out and yanks George into his office. A few seconds later, they both come out with Billy Disease, the symptoms of which involve acting very distracted and staring anywhere one might have absently laid $8,000.
Potter watches as the men march up the street, eyes firmly on the ground. With every passing minute, he feels more and more confident that Billy won't remember the newspaper. (He was exercising a businessman's caution by being worried at all, because when has Uncle Billy remembered anything, ever?)
So, after a few hours of searching, George finally screams at Billy and storms off, and it's way less satisfying than you'd think, because while somebody really ought to come down hard on Uncle Billy, it shouldn't be George. George is too smart to rail futilely at sad old men, Potter only excepted.
Then George goes home, where Mary can tell that something's up but can't get it out of him, and then we get the Zuzu's Petals scene. (In case you don't remember, daughter Zuzu is ill because she was given a flower at school and kept her coat open so as not to crush it, which makes not a lick of sense, but then again Zuzu herself doesn't make much sense, seeing as how she acts like she's never seen a flower before today. When a few petals fall off the bloom, George pockets them.)
In the face of his sick, flower-obsessed daughter, George shows admirable self-control, (although she is far more annoying than Pete, who only wants to know how to spell things properly. If I ever become a parent, I vow to never get upset with my children for asking how to spell difficult words). He's gentle with her - saving his wrath until he gets downstairs, then unloading it on Zuzu's teacher (who calls to see how she's doing), the "drafty old house," and his three healthy children.
Mary knows George has a rough time of it at work, but she'll be damned if he's going to talk to their kids that way. Finally, he shambles off, and Mary calls up Uncle Billy to find out what the heck happened at work that day.
Meanwhile, George has gone to Potter for help. And while Potter could use this opportunity to own George's whole life, he instead decides to give his own speech (um, drink?) about how George ain't so big now, is he? And then he calls the cops on him. But the main point of this scene is that George has a life insurance policy for $15,000.
So George runs off and does the only thing he can think of to do: have a few stiff drinks. This would be a good plan, all things considered, except: you know how George cussed out Zuzu's teacher earlier? Well, her husband decided the best way to comfort her would be by going out to the bar. So he attacks George, but he only gets in one good punch before the bar owner, Martini, tosses him out. Martini is one of the earliest residents of Bailey Park and a big fan of George.
(One of the brilliant things about these scenes is that even as they show George imagining that he's losing everything, they emphasize what he still has. As the bank examiner is demanding the B&L's books, Violet is saying, "I'm glad I know you, George Bailey." As the angry drunk is punching George in the face, Martini is calling George "my best friend.")
But George doesn't notice what Capra's trying to point out, so he wanders off and drunkenly plows his car into a tree. And then some guy comes up and yells at him about THAT, and you know. that is just the LAST STRAW, mister.
And that's how George Bailey comes to be standing on a bridge at "10:45 p.m. Earth time," holding his $15,000 life insurance policy, staring into the churning water below, and thinking about what Potter said before: "You're worth more dead than alive, George."
And then, something else falls out of the sky and into the river.
(on to Part 8)
Anyway, Uncle Billy gives Potter the paper so he can read about Harry, but fails to notice that he's folded up his bank deposit of $8,000 inside that paper. Potter watches from his corner office (he took over the bank on George's wedding day, remember) as Uncle Billy fumbles for the money at the teller's window, then races frantically about the lobby. If I were Potter, I'd be wondering why I didn't go after Uncle Billy sooner; he's always been the weak link in that partnership.
It's so weird how the very day Uncle Billy loses all their money is the day the bank examiner is auditing the Building and Loan. It's also the day Violet Bick comes in asking for a loan so she can move to New York and make her fortune. She apologizes to George because she has no collateral and few prospects, but he tells her the same thing he tells all his neighbors: he knows her, knows she's a good person, and he's sure she'll pay him back in her own time. She kisses his cheek, leaving a lipstick stain that the bank examiner stares at pointedly.
(I'm emphasizing this part, by the way, because I think it's going to be important to understand the options women have in Bedford Falls as opposed to ... other places.)
Uncle Billy bursts in, staring into corners and shuffling papers like he expects to find thousands of dollars in cash in them (but it is Uncle Billy, so you never know). George is like "Dude, will you just act like a normal person while the bank examiner is here?" and Billy freaks out and yanks George into his office. A few seconds later, they both come out with Billy Disease, the symptoms of which involve acting very distracted and staring anywhere one might have absently laid $8,000.
Potter watches as the men march up the street, eyes firmly on the ground. With every passing minute, he feels more and more confident that Billy won't remember the newspaper. (He was exercising a businessman's caution by being worried at all, because when has Uncle Billy remembered anything, ever?)
So, after a few hours of searching, George finally screams at Billy and storms off, and it's way less satisfying than you'd think, because while somebody really ought to come down hard on Uncle Billy, it shouldn't be George. George is too smart to rail futilely at sad old men, Potter only excepted.
Then George goes home, where Mary can tell that something's up but can't get it out of him, and then we get the Zuzu's Petals scene. (In case you don't remember, daughter Zuzu is ill because she was given a flower at school and kept her coat open so as not to crush it, which makes not a lick of sense, but then again Zuzu herself doesn't make much sense, seeing as how she acts like she's never seen a flower before today. When a few petals fall off the bloom, George pockets them.)
In the face of his sick, flower-obsessed daughter, George shows admirable self-control, (although she is far more annoying than Pete, who only wants to know how to spell things properly. If I ever become a parent, I vow to never get upset with my children for asking how to spell difficult words). He's gentle with her - saving his wrath until he gets downstairs, then unloading it on Zuzu's teacher (who calls to see how she's doing), the "drafty old house," and his three healthy children.
Mary knows George has a rough time of it at work, but she'll be damned if he's going to talk to their kids that way. Finally, he shambles off, and Mary calls up Uncle Billy to find out what the heck happened at work that day.
Meanwhile, George has gone to Potter for help. And while Potter could use this opportunity to own George's whole life, he instead decides to give his own speech (um, drink?) about how George ain't so big now, is he? And then he calls the cops on him. But the main point of this scene is that George has a life insurance policy for $15,000.
So George runs off and does the only thing he can think of to do: have a few stiff drinks. This would be a good plan, all things considered, except: you know how George cussed out Zuzu's teacher earlier? Well, her husband decided the best way to comfort her would be by going out to the bar. So he attacks George, but he only gets in one good punch before the bar owner, Martini, tosses him out. Martini is one of the earliest residents of Bailey Park and a big fan of George.
(One of the brilliant things about these scenes is that even as they show George imagining that he's losing everything, they emphasize what he still has. As the bank examiner is demanding the B&L's books, Violet is saying, "I'm glad I know you, George Bailey." As the angry drunk is punching George in the face, Martini is calling George "my best friend.")
But George doesn't notice what Capra's trying to point out, so he wanders off and drunkenly plows his car into a tree. And then some guy comes up and yells at him about THAT, and you know. that is just the LAST STRAW, mister.
And that's how George Bailey comes to be standing on a bridge at "10:45 p.m. Earth time," holding his $15,000 life insurance policy, staring into the churning water below, and thinking about what Potter said before: "You're worth more dead than alive, George."
And then, something else falls out of the sky and into the river.
(on to Part 8)
12.21.2008
Wonderful Life, part six: "In the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider!"
OK, we're gonna speed things up here, because Christmas is fast approaching and also because the next parts of the movie really just cement character traits that we already know, so here's the basic stuff that happens in this part:
On Christmas Eve, Harry Bailey is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. And that brings us to the day that George Bailey is going to kill himself.
(on to Part 7)
- George, it turns out, has all the work ethic that his father had, and far more business sense too, so the Building and Loan prospers.
- George starts a whole new subdivision of low-income homeowners called Bailey Park. (Incidentally, the Potter-owned slum where most of Bailey Park's residents seem to come from is called Potter's Field, which tells me that for all his faults, Potter at least has a wicked sense of humor.)
- From Potter's perspective, the B&L goes from being a minor annoyance to an actual threat to his business model (which seems to be "charge customers more than they can afford for less than they deserve"). So he calls in George and offers him a job for a ton more money and a lot of travel opportunities. George (who is fresh off a run-in with Sam Wainwright and his wealth) is momentarily dazzled, but he quickly recovers and gives a heartfelt speech (drink!) about how Potter thinks he can just buy everything he sees, but it won't work on ol' George Bailey, no sir.
- George goes home, head spinning, and Mary tells him she's pregnant. Well, there goes his shot at ever skipping town. (Up in heaven, Joseph also thinks this is obvious, but Clarence is still shocked to hear it. Oh, Clarence.)
- War were declared. Everyone in Bedford Falls helps out, in their own way - selling war bonds, sewing for the Red Cross, all that stuff you hear about the home front during WWII. Mary, now with four kids (dude!) is the super-housewife who also finds time to run the USO. Even Potter helps out by running the draft board, but as much as I'm sure he'd like to send George off to get blown up in Belgium, George's deaf ear makes him ineligible.
- So while his friends are off winning medals and parachuting into foreign countries, George deals with the only Americans we've ever seen in popular culture who are grouchy about making sacrifices during the war. They squabble for more ration points; they ignore his air raid drills. But George keeps going, just like he always has.
- Harry Bailey becomes the big hero, shooting down 15 enemy planes, two as they were about to go kamikaze on a ship filled with soldiers. (Remember when I said he's the guy movies usually get made about?)
On Christmas Eve, Harry Bailey is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. And that brings us to the day that George Bailey is going to kill himself.
(on to Part 7)
12.20.2008
Wonderful Life, part five: "I've never really seen one, but that's got all the earmarks of a run."
The church doors open, and out come the newlyweds George and Mary Bailey. They hop into Ernie's cab and start making out like they invented it. It's awesome.
When they come up for air, Ernie asks them what they're going to do for their honeymoon. George has been saving up for a long time for his trip around the world, so they're just going to go to the most awesome places ever and live it up until the cash runs out. Sounds good to me, and I bet it sounds good to all the people in the street who are muttering and dashing over to the bank as fast as they can go. Yes, the Great Depression has hit Bedford Falls, because this movie never met a piece of early 20th century American history it didn't like.
George is like, better check on the Building and Loan real quick before we skip town. Mary doesn't want him to go. (Even Mary, who loves Bedford Falls as much as anyone we've seen, is trying to get away. It's George, who says he hates the place, who makes them go back to make sure everything is all right.) He pulls up short at what he sees - a locked B&L door and a silent, staring mob in front of it.
George goes, OK, OK, we're gonna get all this sorted out, and he unchains the doors and leads the mob upstairs, where they catch Uncle Billy drinking straight from the bottle. (Jeez, Uncle Billy is like 10 kinds of worthless. Also, he forgot to go to the wedding.)
So I'm a little fuzzy on this part, but it seems like what happened was that because there was a run on the bank, it (the bank), trying to grab as much cash as possible, called in a loan the B&L had, so Uncle Billy had to hand over all the cash in the building. (Can banks seriously do that?) Now they have no cash for their members, they still owe the bank money, and Potter (having already covered the bank's deposits, because he's richer than God) is trying to gain control of the B&L, telling members he'll buy their shares for 50 cents on the dollar.
(This movie is about suicide and banking. How in the world did it get branded as "sentimental"?)
George tries to give another inspirational, populist speech about standing up to Potter, reminding the people that at some point, they've all known what it's like to be under Potter's thumb, and now they'll be going right back there for a few dollars. "We can get through this thing all right. But we've got to stick together! We've got to have faith in each other!" But the crowd is like, "Dude, sticking together is for people who can afford to eat. See you in Pottersville, buddy." And they start heading toward the door.
Mary didn't want to go back, but they did, and now Mary is seeing all this. She hears his speech, and she sees to the heart of what her husband tries to do every day, and she sees it all slipping through his fingers. Mary didn't want to go back, but now she stands up, flashes the Honeymoon Wad, and calls out, "How much do you need?"
And George, relieved that he still has something to share with his neighbors ("This'll tide us over till the bank reopens!") doesn't protest. He also doesn't notice when Mary slips out.
Several hours later, the B&L staff is counting down the seconds to closing time. They've given out all the money except $2 (good thing Mrs. Davis decided she could get through the week with $17.50 instead of $20 - George kissed her on both cheeks for that), and as the clock strikes, they lock the doors and cheer and take shots of whatever Uncle Billy's been drinking because they're still in business.
(This is another banking dealie that I don't understand - don't they have to open tomorrow? How are they going to get any more money if all their members have to borrow money from them just to keep living for a week? And then: "Let's put them in the safe and see what happens." Well, what do you think is gonna happen, George? You'll come back tomorrow and still have $2, and God help you if Mrs. Davis decides she needed $20 after all.)
Anyway, George realizes with a start that this is his wedding day, and just as he's about to run out looking for Mary, she calls the B&L and asks him to come home. "What home?"
Cut to the old house where they broke those windows years ago, and from the looks of the interior, bits of the roof have broken off over the years, too. But Mary and some wacky neighbors have covered the broken windows with travel posters and set up a "bridal suite" in a few of the downstairs rooms, and there's music and a chicken roasting on a spit over a fire, and there's also (the camera pointedly notes) a bedroom. George doesn't know what to say, so they just hold each other for a while - while outside, Bert the cop and Ernie the cab driver (supposedly a coincidence) serenade the couple.
"Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house?" says Mary. "This is what I wished for."
And, like Bert and Ernie, we'll take that moment to slip off and leave the lovers to their own devices.
(on to Part 6)
When they come up for air, Ernie asks them what they're going to do for their honeymoon. George has been saving up for a long time for his trip around the world, so they're just going to go to the most awesome places ever and live it up until the cash runs out. Sounds good to me, and I bet it sounds good to all the people in the street who are muttering and dashing over to the bank as fast as they can go. Yes, the Great Depression has hit Bedford Falls, because this movie never met a piece of early 20th century American history it didn't like.
George is like, better check on the Building and Loan real quick before we skip town. Mary doesn't want him to go. (Even Mary, who loves Bedford Falls as much as anyone we've seen, is trying to get away. It's George, who says he hates the place, who makes them go back to make sure everything is all right.) He pulls up short at what he sees - a locked B&L door and a silent, staring mob in front of it.
George goes, OK, OK, we're gonna get all this sorted out, and he unchains the doors and leads the mob upstairs, where they catch Uncle Billy drinking straight from the bottle. (Jeez, Uncle Billy is like 10 kinds of worthless. Also, he forgot to go to the wedding.)
So I'm a little fuzzy on this part, but it seems like what happened was that because there was a run on the bank, it (the bank), trying to grab as much cash as possible, called in a loan the B&L had, so Uncle Billy had to hand over all the cash in the building. (Can banks seriously do that?) Now they have no cash for their members, they still owe the bank money, and Potter (having already covered the bank's deposits, because he's richer than God) is trying to gain control of the B&L, telling members he'll buy their shares for 50 cents on the dollar.
(This movie is about suicide and banking. How in the world did it get branded as "sentimental"?)
George tries to give another inspirational, populist speech about standing up to Potter, reminding the people that at some point, they've all known what it's like to be under Potter's thumb, and now they'll be going right back there for a few dollars. "We can get through this thing all right. But we've got to stick together! We've got to have faith in each other!" But the crowd is like, "Dude, sticking together is for people who can afford to eat. See you in Pottersville, buddy." And they start heading toward the door.
Mary didn't want to go back, but they did, and now Mary is seeing all this. She hears his speech, and she sees to the heart of what her husband tries to do every day, and she sees it all slipping through his fingers. Mary didn't want to go back, but now she stands up, flashes the Honeymoon Wad, and calls out, "How much do you need?"
And George, relieved that he still has something to share with his neighbors ("This'll tide us over till the bank reopens!") doesn't protest. He also doesn't notice when Mary slips out.
Several hours later, the B&L staff is counting down the seconds to closing time. They've given out all the money except $2 (good thing Mrs. Davis decided she could get through the week with $17.50 instead of $20 - George kissed her on both cheeks for that), and as the clock strikes, they lock the doors and cheer and take shots of whatever Uncle Billy's been drinking because they're still in business.
(This is another banking dealie that I don't understand - don't they have to open tomorrow? How are they going to get any more money if all their members have to borrow money from them just to keep living for a week? And then: "Let's put them in the safe and see what happens." Well, what do you think is gonna happen, George? You'll come back tomorrow and still have $2, and God help you if Mrs. Davis decides she needed $20 after all.)
Anyway, George realizes with a start that this is his wedding day, and just as he's about to run out looking for Mary, she calls the B&L and asks him to come home. "What home?"
Cut to the old house where they broke those windows years ago, and from the looks of the interior, bits of the roof have broken off over the years, too. But Mary and some wacky neighbors have covered the broken windows with travel posters and set up a "bridal suite" in a few of the downstairs rooms, and there's music and a chicken roasting on a spit over a fire, and there's also (the camera pointedly notes) a bedroom. George doesn't know what to say, so they just hold each other for a while - while outside, Bert the cop and Ernie the cab driver (supposedly a coincidence) serenade the couple.
"Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house?" says Mary. "This is what I wished for."
And, like Bert and Ernie, we'll take that moment to slip off and leave the lovers to their own devices.
(on to Part 6)
12.14.2008
Wonderful Life, part four: "He's making violent love to me, Mother."
While George Bailey stays behind to work at the Building and Loan (drink!), Harry Bailey gets a football scholarship and becomes a college star. But a few years have gone by, and he's coming home from school. George and Uncle Billy meet him at the train station, but he's brought a surprise with him: Mrs. Harry Bailey.
(You know, Harry Bailey is the kind of guy movies usually get made about. Near-death experience in childhood, glamorous college career, whirlwind romance and surprise marriage - and that's not even counting what happens later.)
Anyway, George is counting on Harry to take over the Building and Loan so he can finally go off to school and to see the world, but Harry's new father-in-law has offered him some awesome job somewhere far away from Bedford Falls. But Harry loves his family, and he'll stay if only George tells him that now it's his turn.
All this is on George's mind as he studiously avoids Harry's homecoming party. Everyone is inside laughing and having a good time, and George is sitting alone, thinking about what's best for Harry and for the town. (Lord, that's so George.)So his mom comes out and reminds him that Hottie Donna Reed is back in town, which would be good for him and the town, because then the town wouldn't have to watch them moon over each other and never do anything about it.
So George goes, "All right, Mother, old Building and Loan pal - I think I'll go find a girl and do a little passionate necking." That's not my modernist paraphrase of the situation - that is a direct quote from Jimmy Stewart. It is also now my second-favorite line in a Christmas movie ever.*
But George doesn't go call on Mary. Instead, he heads for swingin' downtown Bedford Falls, where he knows he'll run into Violet Bick.
George wishes he wanted Violet. She seems exciting - the type of girl you could take around the world with you. (Or you could just leave her in Bedford Falls, and she'd find someone else the next night.) So he gives it a try, telling her about all the impossibly romantic adventures they could go on just in that one night. But he and Violet speak different languages, and he loses her at "take off our shoes and walk through the grass." Violet does many things, but she doesn't do bare feet.
I love this next part.
So George wanders aimlessly, and it's so weird how he just happens to wind up pacing in front of Mary's house. Mary fluffs her hair, puts "Buffalo Gals" on the phonograph, and invites George in. He sits on the sofa and looks miserable and answers questions in the rudest way possible, because he doesn't want to feel the way he does, and he certainly doesn't want Mary sitting there, looking the way she does, trying to get him to remember how they harmonized to "Buffalo Gals." And then the best thing ever happens.
HAHAHAHAHA - and THAT is my favorite line in a Christmas movie ever.
Just then, Sam Wainwright calls, because apparently he's been seeing Mary? I dunno - I never understood this part, because clearly Sam + Mary are all wrong. But it gives her an opportunity to get George's hackles up ("yes, Sam, old moss-back George") - and then Sam says he wants to talk to both of them at once.
So they put their heads together so they can both hear the phone, and their lips are almost touching so they can both speak into the receiver, and honestly I don't have any idea what Sam is saying (something about a soybean factory?) because they are so clearly attracted to each other that the tension is unbearable. It's like back in that high school gymnasium when they're devouring each other with their eyes; Mary is almost crying by the end: "I, I-I'm here, Sam," she manages.
Sam is still talking, in fact, when George drops the phone, grabs Mary by the shoulders - and starts shaking her. He grits that he's leaving, d'you hear, and he doesn't want to ever get married, not to anyone! But he's all out of bluster. "Oh, Mary, Mary, Mary ..."
And they fall into each other's arms. Looks like George will have a traveling partner on that trip around the world.
* The line that used to hold the silver medal is from Holiday Inn:
"How'd he get that far in five minutes?"
"The lady must have been willing."
(on to Part 5)
(You know, Harry Bailey is the kind of guy movies usually get made about. Near-death experience in childhood, glamorous college career, whirlwind romance and surprise marriage - and that's not even counting what happens later.)
Anyway, George is counting on Harry to take over the Building and Loan so he can finally go off to school and to see the world, but Harry's new father-in-law has offered him some awesome job somewhere far away from Bedford Falls. But Harry loves his family, and he'll stay if only George tells him that now it's his turn.
All this is on George's mind as he studiously avoids Harry's homecoming party. Everyone is inside laughing and having a good time, and George is sitting alone, thinking about what's best for Harry and for the town. (Lord, that's so George.)So his mom comes out and reminds him that Hottie Donna Reed is back in town, which would be good for him and the town, because then the town wouldn't have to watch them moon over each other and never do anything about it.
So George goes, "All right, Mother, old Building and Loan pal - I think I'll go find a girl and do a little passionate necking." That's not my modernist paraphrase of the situation - that is a direct quote from Jimmy Stewart. It is also now my second-favorite line in a Christmas movie ever.*
But George doesn't go call on Mary. Instead, he heads for swingin' downtown Bedford Falls, where he knows he'll run into Violet Bick.
George wishes he wanted Violet. She seems exciting - the type of girl you could take around the world with you. (Or you could just leave her in Bedford Falls, and she'd find someone else the next night.) So he gives it a try, telling her about all the impossibly romantic adventures they could go on just in that one night. But he and Violet speak different languages, and he loses her at "take off our shoes and walk through the grass." Violet does many things, but she doesn't do bare feet.
I love this next part.
So George wanders aimlessly, and it's so weird how he just happens to wind up pacing in front of Mary's house. Mary fluffs her hair, puts "Buffalo Gals" on the phonograph, and invites George in. He sits on the sofa and looks miserable and answers questions in the rudest way possible, because he doesn't want to feel the way he does, and he certainly doesn't want Mary sitting there, looking the way she does, trying to get him to remember how they harmonized to "Buffalo Gals." And then the best thing ever happens.
MRS. HATCH. Mary? Who's down there with you?
MARY. It's George Bailey, Mother.
MRS. HATCH. George Bailey? What's he want?
GEORGE. Me? Nothing - I just came in to get warm.
MARY. He's making violent love to me, Mother.
HAHAHAHAHA - and THAT is my favorite line in a Christmas movie ever.
Just then, Sam Wainwright calls, because apparently he's been seeing Mary? I dunno - I never understood this part, because clearly Sam + Mary are all wrong. But it gives her an opportunity to get George's hackles up ("yes, Sam, old moss-back George") - and then Sam says he wants to talk to both of them at once.
So they put their heads together so they can both hear the phone, and their lips are almost touching so they can both speak into the receiver, and honestly I don't have any idea what Sam is saying (something about a soybean factory?) because they are so clearly attracted to each other that the tension is unbearable. It's like back in that high school gymnasium when they're devouring each other with their eyes; Mary is almost crying by the end: "I, I-I'm here, Sam," she manages.
Sam is still talking, in fact, when George drops the phone, grabs Mary by the shoulders - and starts shaking her. He grits that he's leaving, d'you hear, and he doesn't want to ever get married, not to anyone! But he's all out of bluster. "Oh, Mary, Mary, Mary ..."
And they fall into each other's arms. Looks like George will have a traveling partner on that trip around the world.
* The line that used to hold the silver medal is from Holiday Inn:
"How'd he get that far in five minutes?"
"The lady must have been willing."
(on to Part 5)
12.12.2008
Wonderful Life, part three: "I'm gonna shake the dust of this crummy little town off my feet, and I'm gonna see the world!"
It's been 10 years since George Bailey stopped Mr. Gower from poisoning a child, and he hasn't forgotten; when adult George strides into the drugstore, one day from leaving on his big trip around the world, he discovers Gower has bought him the biggest suitcase in the place. "How about that? My old boss," he chuckles.
(Side note: my sister's favorite line in this movie is George asking for a larger suitcase in the most Jimmy Stewart-y voice ever. "I, I, I want a BIG one!")
Harry Bailey is graduating from high school today. Most of George's friends are in college, but he had to stay behind and work at the Building and Loan until he saved up the money to go. (Here's a fun drinking game you can start now: take a drink every time George has to stay behind and work at the Building and Loan. By the end of the movie, you'll be very drunk and very depressed.)
George's dad tries to convince him to stay on, but George wants to do BIG things, not insignificant stuff like running a tiny B&L in a tiny town. Mr. Bailey says the B&L is important in its own way, seeing as how it's the town's last line of defense against Potter. George is like, "Good thing you're around to keep it going, then! I'm off to drink bathtub gin with Harry's high school friends, and tomorrow I'm taking two aspirin and getting on that boat."
So off he goes to Harry's graduation party. There, he meets his old pal Mike, who's back from college and who asks George to do him a solid and make sure his kid sister Mary isn't alone all night. George mutters about baby-sitting until he sees that Little Mary Hatch has turned into Soft-Focus Hottie Donna Reed, and then there's this excellent part where they look like they're trying to eat each other up with their eyes, they're staring so hard. They dance a wacky new dance that all the kids are into called the Charleston - and honestly, the way everyone in the room is carrying on, it looks pretty fun. (My guess is that bathtub gin makes everything more fun.)
But even more fun is when a spurned would-be suitor of Mary's decides to get back at George by opening up the gymnasium floor to reveal the pool just underneath the dancing couple. George and Mary get back at him just by being themselves; they have such a good time splashing in the pool (still dancing the Charleston, by the looks of it!) that everyone else jumps in too, including the principal of the school - and eventually, the bitter suitor himself.
Later, George walks Mary home, she in a bathrobe and he in an old-timey football uniform. They harmonize badly on "Buffalo Gals" and pass by an old abandoned house. (Trivia time! The house and the song are the inspiration for the production card of My So-Called Life production company The Bedford Falls Co.) George says the boys used to make wishes on rocks thrown through the windows of the house; he demonstrates on one of only two windows left. He says his wish is to get the hell out of Bedford Falls, explore the world, do big things in big places, and never settle down.
Mary is silent for a moment. Then she picks up a rock and shatters the last unbroken window. Dude, after a throw like that, I want to marry her. "What'd you wish for?" George asks. Mary stares at him for a few seconds, then wanders off singing "Buffalo Gals." George doesn't press the point - he's just happy to be walking home with a total smokin' babe.
So, walky walk, flirty flirt, there's some business with a grouchy neighbor, and the upshot is, George accidentally steps on Mary's robe, and it slips off. She screams and flees into the bushes. George is delighted. There's some banter ("I'll call the police!" "They're down the street; they won't hear you. Plus, they'd be on my side."), but it's cut short when a car pulls up and George's Uncle Billy shouts from it, "George, come home quickly! Your father's had a stroke."
A few months later, George and Uncle Billy are standing in front of the B&L board wearing black armbands. George had to cancel his pre-college trip around the world to help out after his father's death, but he's leaving for school (you guessed it!) tomorrow. Maybe even tonight. Then Potter pipes up (Mr. Bailey let him on the board to try to shut him up about closing the place all the time) with a motion to dissolve the B&L. (So, um, guess that plan didn't work out very well.)
Potter says the place doesn't make any money because it gives loans to deadbeats, but when he starts naming off people George knows - and George knows everyone in Bedford Falls - George gets upset. Another drinking game you can start playing now is taking a drink whenever George makes an impassioned, populist speech against Potter. Man, by the end of this movie, you're gonna be schmammered.
So George and Uncle Billy go outside to wait for the board's decision and tell their staff to start getting their resumes together. But the decision comes back: the board voted to keep the B&L going! Under one condition: George has to stay on as Executive Partner. George is like, what about Uncle Billy? The board goes, "Dude, have you met Uncle Billy? Right this second he has 14 strings tied around his fingers, and one of them is to remind him to breathe."
Fair enough, sighs George - and for the third time in this section alone, he's staying behind to work at the Building and Loan.
P.S. It's pretty clear that I underestimated the number of posts I'd do on this movie, since I haven't even gotten to the Great Depression yet. Sorry! I just keep coming across scenes I love and want to describe them in detail.
(on to Part 4)
(Side note: my sister's favorite line in this movie is George asking for a larger suitcase in the most Jimmy Stewart-y voice ever. "I, I, I want a BIG one!")
Harry Bailey is graduating from high school today. Most of George's friends are in college, but he had to stay behind and work at the Building and Loan until he saved up the money to go. (Here's a fun drinking game you can start now: take a drink every time George has to stay behind and work at the Building and Loan. By the end of the movie, you'll be very drunk and very depressed.)
George's dad tries to convince him to stay on, but George wants to do BIG things, not insignificant stuff like running a tiny B&L in a tiny town. Mr. Bailey says the B&L is important in its own way, seeing as how it's the town's last line of defense against Potter. George is like, "Good thing you're around to keep it going, then! I'm off to drink bathtub gin with Harry's high school friends, and tomorrow I'm taking two aspirin and getting on that boat."
So off he goes to Harry's graduation party. There, he meets his old pal Mike, who's back from college and who asks George to do him a solid and make sure his kid sister Mary isn't alone all night. George mutters about baby-sitting until he sees that Little Mary Hatch has turned into Soft-Focus Hottie Donna Reed, and then there's this excellent part where they look like they're trying to eat each other up with their eyes, they're staring so hard. They dance a wacky new dance that all the kids are into called the Charleston - and honestly, the way everyone in the room is carrying on, it looks pretty fun. (My guess is that bathtub gin makes everything more fun.)
But even more fun is when a spurned would-be suitor of Mary's decides to get back at George by opening up the gymnasium floor to reveal the pool just underneath the dancing couple. George and Mary get back at him just by being themselves; they have such a good time splashing in the pool (still dancing the Charleston, by the looks of it!) that everyone else jumps in too, including the principal of the school - and eventually, the bitter suitor himself.
Later, George walks Mary home, she in a bathrobe and he in an old-timey football uniform. They harmonize badly on "Buffalo Gals" and pass by an old abandoned house. (Trivia time! The house and the song are the inspiration for the production card of My So-Called Life production company The Bedford Falls Co.) George says the boys used to make wishes on rocks thrown through the windows of the house; he demonstrates on one of only two windows left. He says his wish is to get the hell out of Bedford Falls, explore the world, do big things in big places, and never settle down.
Mary is silent for a moment. Then she picks up a rock and shatters the last unbroken window. Dude, after a throw like that, I want to marry her. "What'd you wish for?" George asks. Mary stares at him for a few seconds, then wanders off singing "Buffalo Gals." George doesn't press the point - he's just happy to be walking home with a total smokin' babe.
So, walky walk, flirty flirt, there's some business with a grouchy neighbor, and the upshot is, George accidentally steps on Mary's robe, and it slips off. She screams and flees into the bushes. George is delighted. There's some banter ("I'll call the police!" "They're down the street; they won't hear you. Plus, they'd be on my side."), but it's cut short when a car pulls up and George's Uncle Billy shouts from it, "George, come home quickly! Your father's had a stroke."
A few months later, George and Uncle Billy are standing in front of the B&L board wearing black armbands. George had to cancel his pre-college trip around the world to help out after his father's death, but he's leaving for school (you guessed it!) tomorrow. Maybe even tonight. Then Potter pipes up (Mr. Bailey let him on the board to try to shut him up about closing the place all the time) with a motion to dissolve the B&L. (So, um, guess that plan didn't work out very well.)
Potter says the place doesn't make any money because it gives loans to deadbeats, but when he starts naming off people George knows - and George knows everyone in Bedford Falls - George gets upset. Another drinking game you can start playing now is taking a drink whenever George makes an impassioned, populist speech against Potter. Man, by the end of this movie, you're gonna be schmammered.
So George and Uncle Billy go outside to wait for the board's decision and tell their staff to start getting their resumes together. But the decision comes back: the board voted to keep the B&L going! Under one condition: George has to stay on as Executive Partner. George is like, what about Uncle Billy? The board goes, "Dude, have you met Uncle Billy? Right this second he has 14 strings tied around his fingers, and one of them is to remind him to breathe."
Fair enough, sighs George - and for the third time in this section alone, he's staying behind to work at the Building and Loan.
P.S. It's pretty clear that I underestimated the number of posts I'd do on this movie, since I haven't even gotten to the Great Depression yet. Sorry! I just keep coming across scenes I love and want to describe them in detail.
(on to Part 4)
Wonderful Life, part two: "I'm gonna have three or four wives, and maybe some harems"
So, Clarence and the audience are getting their first look at our protagonist:
"That boy?" says Clarence.
OMG you are a dummy, sighs Joseph. It's 1919 in this scene, and George is 12 years old. He and his friends are sledding down a hill on snow shovels, because when George Bailey was your age they didn't have your fancy toboggans and saucers. They did have catchphrases, though ("Hee-haw!" shouts little Sammy Wainwright as he zips past), and they clearly didn't have to walk 10 miles in the snow uphill both ways to slide all the way across the pond and into the unfrozen creek, because Harry Bailey does that on his very first try.
"George saved his brother's life that day," says Joseph as we see George dive in after Harry and arrange a human chain to fish him out. The hero's reward? An infection that left him deaf in one ear.
A few months later, George is on the mend and back at his job at the drugstore. He serves ice cream to Mary and Violet, who are like 8 years old - but you can already tell that Violet is going to be trouble. She calls George "Georgie" and asks him to help her off the stool. He looks disgusted. So does Mary, who waits until George is busying himself under the counter, then whispers, "Is this the ear you can't hear anything out of? ... George Bailey, I'll love you till the day I die."
Then George pops back up and tells her that first chance he gets, he's gonna blow town and be a dashing explorer who travels the world and leaves trails of devastated women in his wake. Good choice, there, Mary.
What with all this romance, I forgot to mention that George's boss, Mr. Gower, is extremely drunk and sobbing in a corner. George noticed this as soon as he walked in (ya gotta have sharp eyes to be a good explorer!), and now he finds out why - there's a crumpled telegram on the cash register informing Gower that his son has died of the newfangled influenza.
You guys, you do not want your prescription filled by a drunk pharmacist. Gower stumbles around, unwittingly makes some pills out of POISON, and calls to George to deliver the pills. George takes the pills and runs off to ask his dad what to do.
Dad is at the Bailey Building and Loan, arguing about something or other with Potter. You all know Potter. You all hate Potter. So does George Bailey - he blows up at the old man and Dad tosses him out before he can ask whether he should deliver poison to a kid with diphtheria. Luckily, he decides on his own that the answer is no.
When George returns to the shop, Gower grabs him and starts throwing him around, demanding to know why he got a call from the family saying they didn't get their pills. He smacks George on his infected ear, which starts bleeding. "Don't you know that boy's very sick?" he shouts. Gower knows how it feels to have a sick child.
Through the blows, George finally gets out that the pills are poison - "I know you didn't mean it, you just feel bad about the telegram" - and thrusts them at Gower. Gower tastes one, and even though it's a black-and-white film, you can see his face go ashen. He falls to his knees - "Don't hit my ear again!" shrieks George - and throws his arms around the kid. They're both crying. (So am I, again. This movie!) "I'll never tell anyone," George vows.
So, within a couple months, at the age of 12, George Bailey saved two lives. Surely even Clarence can handle this case, right?
(on to Part 3)
"That boy?" says Clarence.
OMG you are a dummy, sighs Joseph. It's 1919 in this scene, and George is 12 years old. He and his friends are sledding down a hill on snow shovels, because when George Bailey was your age they didn't have your fancy toboggans and saucers. They did have catchphrases, though ("Hee-haw!" shouts little Sammy Wainwright as he zips past), and they clearly didn't have to walk 10 miles in the snow uphill both ways to slide all the way across the pond and into the unfrozen creek, because Harry Bailey does that on his very first try.
"George saved his brother's life that day," says Joseph as we see George dive in after Harry and arrange a human chain to fish him out. The hero's reward? An infection that left him deaf in one ear.
A few months later, George is on the mend and back at his job at the drugstore. He serves ice cream to Mary and Violet, who are like 8 years old - but you can already tell that Violet is going to be trouble. She calls George "Georgie" and asks him to help her off the stool. He looks disgusted. So does Mary, who waits until George is busying himself under the counter, then whispers, "Is this the ear you can't hear anything out of? ... George Bailey, I'll love you till the day I die."
Then George pops back up and tells her that first chance he gets, he's gonna blow town and be a dashing explorer who travels the world and leaves trails of devastated women in his wake. Good choice, there, Mary.
What with all this romance, I forgot to mention that George's boss, Mr. Gower, is extremely drunk and sobbing in a corner. George noticed this as soon as he walked in (ya gotta have sharp eyes to be a good explorer!), and now he finds out why - there's a crumpled telegram on the cash register informing Gower that his son has died of the newfangled influenza.
You guys, you do not want your prescription filled by a drunk pharmacist. Gower stumbles around, unwittingly makes some pills out of POISON, and calls to George to deliver the pills. George takes the pills and runs off to ask his dad what to do.
Dad is at the Bailey Building and Loan, arguing about something or other with Potter. You all know Potter. You all hate Potter. So does George Bailey - he blows up at the old man and Dad tosses him out before he can ask whether he should deliver poison to a kid with diphtheria. Luckily, he decides on his own that the answer is no.
When George returns to the shop, Gower grabs him and starts throwing him around, demanding to know why he got a call from the family saying they didn't get their pills. He smacks George on his infected ear, which starts bleeding. "Don't you know that boy's very sick?" he shouts. Gower knows how it feels to have a sick child.
Through the blows, George finally gets out that the pills are poison - "I know you didn't mean it, you just feel bad about the telegram" - and thrusts them at Gower. Gower tastes one, and even though it's a black-and-white film, you can see his face go ashen. He falls to his knees - "Don't hit my ear again!" shrieks George - and throws his arms around the kid. They're both crying. (So am I, again. This movie!) "I'll never tell anyone," George vows.
So, within a couple months, at the age of 12, George Bailey saved two lives. Surely even Clarence can handle this case, right?
(on to Part 3)
Wonderful Life, part one: "He's got the IQ of a rabbit!"
We open on the town of Bedford Falls, where we hear prayers from all over town: all for George Bailey. "George is a good guy," says Ernie the cabbie. "Give him a break, God." (Already I'm tearing up a little - pull it together, Hudson!)
These prayers soar up to - heaven? It looks like outer space. God and St. Joseph are represented by star clusters, and they discuss the part that everyone remembers: George Bailey is about to kill himself, and Clarence Oddbody is the guardian angel who's got to stop him. What people might not remember is that Clarence is a bit of a screwup (he's been trying to earn his wings for two centuries!), and Joseph doesn't think they should entrust him with something as important as a man's life. Space God thinks Clarence's faith will see him through.
So they call over Clarence (represented by a tiny star), and he's happy for the opportunity. He's got an hour before George bites it, and he thinks the most important thing to do with that hour is to dress to blend in with the 1940s folks he'll be meeting. Joseph is like, "Seriously, dude? No, you're going to watch this movie of the life of George Bailey so you'll know how to deal with him when you do meet him. You're going to tell him you're a 200-year-old wingless angel anyway - may as well be dressed like a visitor from colonial Williamsburg while you're at it. No wonder you're still AS2."
(I like how Joseph is pretty much only in this scene, but you still get a sense of how exasperated he is with Clarence. Space God says pretty much the same thing, but he's much gentler about it.)
The screen goes dark: we're seeing from Clarence's point of view, and apparently the watching-movies-of-people's-lives power comes with having wings. Joseph, a little sarcastically, helps Clarence see, and gradually the picture comes into focus: George Bailey as a 12-year-old boy.
(on to Part 2)
These prayers soar up to - heaven? It looks like outer space. God and St. Joseph are represented by star clusters, and they discuss the part that everyone remembers: George Bailey is about to kill himself, and Clarence Oddbody is the guardian angel who's got to stop him. What people might not remember is that Clarence is a bit of a screwup (he's been trying to earn his wings for two centuries!), and Joseph doesn't think they should entrust him with something as important as a man's life. Space God thinks Clarence's faith will see him through.
So they call over Clarence (represented by a tiny star), and he's happy for the opportunity. He's got an hour before George bites it, and he thinks the most important thing to do with that hour is to dress to blend in with the 1940s folks he'll be meeting. Joseph is like, "Seriously, dude? No, you're going to watch this movie of the life of George Bailey so you'll know how to deal with him when you do meet him. You're going to tell him you're a 200-year-old wingless angel anyway - may as well be dressed like a visitor from colonial Williamsburg while you're at it. No wonder you're still AS2."
(I like how Joseph is pretty much only in this scene, but you still get a sense of how exasperated he is with Clarence. Space God says pretty much the same thing, but he's much gentler about it.)
The screen goes dark: we're seeing from Clarence's point of view, and apparently the watching-movies-of-people's-lives power comes with having wings. Joseph, a little sarcastically, helps Clarence see, and gradually the picture comes into focus: George Bailey as a 12-year-old boy.
(on to Part 2)
12.10.2008
Holiday blog project: It's a Wonderful Life
The holiday season is upon us in earnest, and so I've decided to do a little project to get the ol' blog muscles pumping again. I'm going to do a series of posts recapping It's a Wonderful Life.
This is a movie that gets unfairly categorized as "saccharine drivel" (ahem, Dan) because the only part of it anyone remembers is the happy ending, which is meaningless if you don't recall the heartbreaking story that got us there.
It's a story about a man who gave up everything he always wanted to do because he couldn't let other people down, couldn't let Goliath beat David, and so he watched his peers vault past him and get the adventures and experience that were rightfully his. He tried to be happy with his lot, and for a time he was. And then one day, Goliath cheated to win.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'll probably do five or six posts on the movie, so watch this space.
EDIT. Here's my series:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
This is a movie that gets unfairly categorized as "saccharine drivel" (ahem, Dan) because the only part of it anyone remembers is the happy ending, which is meaningless if you don't recall the heartbreaking story that got us there.
It's a story about a man who gave up everything he always wanted to do because he couldn't let other people down, couldn't let Goliath beat David, and so he watched his peers vault past him and get the adventures and experience that were rightfully his. He tried to be happy with his lot, and for a time he was. And then one day, Goliath cheated to win.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'll probably do five or six posts on the movie, so watch this space.
EDIT. Here's my series:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)