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nuraman00
Well-Known Member
I saw "It's A Wonderful Life" for the first time, these past few days.
Here are my thoughts.
Ok, finished watching the movie last night. I would not recommend watching this with young kids. It's a scary movie, especially the last hour. There is:
* Mr. Gower committing felony assault (on a minor too) when he repeatedly hits George at the pharmacy.
* Discussions of suicide, themes about not being born, and eery scenes of George in the alternate universe where he wasn't born.
* George creating a tense domestic situation by yelling at his wife and kids, even muttering that he had too many kids, and then kicking and breaking things in his house.
* George facing the prospect of bankruptcy.
* George possibly committing misdemeanor assault and possibly misdemeanor battery when he grabs and chases Mary, trying to convince her that she knows him. Not all conditions of assault or battery may have been met, but a lawyer would have to at least consult him on that one, if she had filed charges.
* The cop Bert firing a gun at George as he tries to run away.
Yes, it does turn out ok at the end as George's friends and townspeople give him money to help him, and he realizes he likes his life, kids, and wife. But there is so much negativity building up until the end that the ending doesn't make up for it.
And there are some pretty violent scenes, considering the time it was made. And considering I thought it was a "family" movie, something safe to watch with kids without getting questions about suicide or physical violence. And not something I would want to think about around the holidays.
Moving beyond that, I thought it was worth watching once, but I wouldn't watch it again, especially given the movie length. As espn_hall_of_famer mentioned, there have been similar movies with similar themes, that probably aren't as dated. Especially the way they talked back then, IMO.
I did like how the Black housekeeper / cook contributed money at the end. That's probably a progressive role, for the era the movie was made in. Showing a minority character with enough wealth to make a financial contribution. So while most of the movie did have a white male-dominated workplace (whether it was the bank, the bar, the cab driver, the cops, or George's Building & Loan), as was true to the era back then, I did like how it had moment for her character at the end.
Die Hard (also considered a Christmas movie according to wiki - List of Christmas films - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) might have violence, but it's not sexual or racial or domestic or violence in the workplace.
Here are my thoughts.
Ok, finished watching the movie last night. I would not recommend watching this with young kids. It's a scary movie, especially the last hour. There is:
* Mr. Gower committing felony assault (on a minor too) when he repeatedly hits George at the pharmacy.
* Discussions of suicide, themes about not being born, and eery scenes of George in the alternate universe where he wasn't born.
* George creating a tense domestic situation by yelling at his wife and kids, even muttering that he had too many kids, and then kicking and breaking things in his house.
* George facing the prospect of bankruptcy.
* George possibly committing misdemeanor assault and possibly misdemeanor battery when he grabs and chases Mary, trying to convince her that she knows him. Not all conditions of assault or battery may have been met, but a lawyer would have to at least consult him on that one, if she had filed charges.
* The cop Bert firing a gun at George as he tries to run away.
Yes, it does turn out ok at the end as George's friends and townspeople give him money to help him, and he realizes he likes his life, kids, and wife. But there is so much negativity building up until the end that the ending doesn't make up for it.
And there are some pretty violent scenes, considering the time it was made. And considering I thought it was a "family" movie, something safe to watch with kids without getting questions about suicide or physical violence. And not something I would want to think about around the holidays.
Moving beyond that, I thought it was worth watching once, but I wouldn't watch it again, especially given the movie length. As espn_hall_of_famer mentioned, there have been similar movies with similar themes, that probably aren't as dated. Especially the way they talked back then, IMO.
I did like how the Black housekeeper / cook contributed money at the end. That's probably a progressive role, for the era the movie was made in. Showing a minority character with enough wealth to make a financial contribution. So while most of the movie did have a white male-dominated workplace (whether it was the bank, the bar, the cab driver, the cops, or George's Building & Loan), as was true to the era back then, I did like how it had moment for her character at the end.
Die Hard (also considered a Christmas movie according to wiki - List of Christmas films - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) might have violence, but it's not sexual or racial or domestic or violence in the workplace.