My All-Time Favorite!
I love this movie and it's a Christmas tradition to watch it with as many of my kids as I can get together. As a young boy in the 50s and 60s I grew up watching old movies on television with my mother. Jimmy Stewart has always been my favorite actor, not in any small measure because of this movie. It was my mother's fondness for him that initially led me to this great discovery. Having my own roots in a small community of western Pennsylvania, only 60 miles from Jimmy's hometown, helped to cement my affinity for him as well. Moving and inspiring the film is a human drama that touches my funny bone and my innermost senses in ways few movies ever do. Yes it's a bit sappy but it's an all-American classic with a message of personal struggle and hope. In all it's simplicity it is simply great entertainment while at the same time leaving us no doubt as to the essential truth of what's *really* important in life. We all matter. We all have purpose and it IS "a Wonderful Life"