You Can't Take It With You
by Frank Capra
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Edward Arnold, James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, Mischa AuerDirector: Frank Capra
Cinematographer: Joseph Walker
Producer: Frank Capra
Editor: Gene Havlick
Writer: George S. Kaufman
Writer: Moss Hart
Writer: Robert Riskin
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 126 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-02-18
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of You Can't Take It With You
Movie Review: For when you need a bit of optimism...
Summary: 5 Stars
I've come upon this film so many times on TV, it's nearly ridiculous. Unfortunately, each and every time, I've come in more than halfway through the picture, thus rendering it rather pointless to stop and watch. When I saw the DVD at the library this past weekend, though, I decided it was time to take the plunge and finally watch "You Can't Take it With You" for real. I'm glad I did.
If I sit back and think of Frank Capra pictures, I usually come up with the image of an "American experience" movie: well-intentioned, pleasing, grass-roots common-people patriotic, and sometimes a little overzealous. This film is no exception, but it's rather different from the Capra films most people remember - "It's a Wonderful Life," of course, and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" - in that it's far more comedic. To the modern viewer, that might seem like a strike against it; even I'm a bit skittish with the "controlled chaos" aspect of 1930s comedy. However, the bulk of the film is so sweet, so idealistic, and so good-naturedly funny it's impossible to dislike. And underneath it all, there's a message that still applies today: money is the root of all evil. Or, as the characters would be more likely to put it, money's not the point of living.
It's a simple setup. There's a wacky family, all engaged in their own hobbies and small moneymaking endeavors, who live in a big house presided over by Grandpa Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore). Vanderhof is the only guy in town to resist takeover by the monopolizing banker Anthony P. Kirby (Edward Arnold), but little does he know that his granddaughter (Jean Arthur) is seriously involved with Kirby's son (Jimmy Stewart). You can see where this is going, right? Simple American folk bungle their attempts to impress the rich future in-laws, while at the same time holding onto their values? Big businessman's cold heart is slowly but surely melted by honesty and happiness? Right, you've got it. No surprises here. It's all been done before, will all be done again, and in this case, it's a Pulitzer Prize-winning play - which are often moralistic to begin with - adapted and actually made more populist by that most moral of directors, Frank Capra. It feels like a play, sometimes to its detriment, and on occasion it feels like a moral tract. But it's a very entertaining one at that.
The joy of the film lies in the great characters. Everyone gets something to do, which is quite rare with a cast of some twenty individually-defined characters. Jimmy Stewart, of course, makes a great impression by sheer screen presence, even though he's one of the simpler, more obvious characters; at the same time, though, Harry Davenport (a very recognizable character actor), is just as memorable in a single scene. The standout performance is by Lionel Barrymore, and if you only know him as Mr Potter of "It's a Wonderful Life," you've got a surprise coming. He steals whole scenes with quiet speeches and folksy humor; an early one, with the bank clerk Mr Poppins, is just possibly the highlight of the whole film. If you ever catch the start of the film but can't sit through it all, make sure you experience that scene, at least. It's magical.
The film is not without flaws, of course. Capra greatly restructured the second half of the play to fit his own pet themes, and it does feel like a sudden shift in tone. It also makes the film about twenty minutes too long, with what seems like a false ending - and then, oh wait, there's more. And while the family's various hobbies and tricks are all very entertaining, they do wear out the third or fourth time we're trotted through them. But it's a fairly minor quibble...
I do heartily recommend the film, because even if it is a bit too long or a bit too moral, there's so much to enjoy it almost doesn't matter. It's nice to occasionally see a movie so irrepressibly idealistic and optimistic, and I challenge you not to finish watching the film without a big ol' happy grin on your face!
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