If you’re a patriotic American, or if you’re a functioning human being living on planet Earth, you’ve seen Frank Capra’s 1946 film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” starring James Stewart and Donna Reed.
Unless you haven’t. In which case, you need to. Like, yesterday.
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For those of us normal people who have seen the movie, we know that it’s the story of George Bailey, a man who has spent his entire life in his tiny hometown of Bedford Falls, wishing and waiting for a chance to escape the mundane happenings of the small town and of his father’s Building and Loan business, which George took over when his father died.
We follow George first through childhood and on to watch his adult life unfolding, all the while waiting to know why a guardian angel named Clarence has been called upon to help George.
Long story short, “It’s A Wonderful Life” is the classic “I didn’t know what I had until it was all gone” story. In the end, George Bailey comes to find out that he really does have a wonderful life. Which is part of why this story is truly inspirational and, in my opinion, the best Christmas movie of all time. But we’ll get to that later.
Because other than the obvious emotional inspiration factor, there are so many reasons to love this movie, regardless of whether you’ve just watched it for the first time, or you’ve watched it a million times over.
More than anything, we should talk about Jimmy Stewart. He’s a total babe. I mean look at this face. How could you not love this face?
Or these dance moves?
But even more than that, his character, George Bailey, is one that we would all like to think we can relate to at his best times, like when he’s being romantic with his wife Mary, when he saves his little brother from drowning, and when he has touching heart to heart talks with his father.
But he's also a character that we find no trouble relating to when he struggles. He feels the pressure of duty versus desire, and he finds himself wishing so much for something just out of reach that he momentarily forgets what he has already. And that’s an internal battle that we can all relate to.
George Bailey is a constant reminder that good men struggle, and that everybody needs a little help and a good friend to get through the day. George rallies, and George gets through it. He’s not perfect, but he gives viewers the sense that they too can get through whatever it is they’ve been wrestling with lately.
And those are just a few of the invaluable lessons that we learn with the help of George and all of the other incredibly cast characters in the holiday movie masterpiece.
But more important than anything is the lesson we learn on Christmas Eve. When George is at his absolute lowest, struggling with seeing the positivity and worth in his life and thinking that there was no possible way to fix his problems, he got a chance to see how blessed he really was in a lot of different ways.
He got to see what an effect he had on all the people around him, and he saw that he really did make everyone’s lives better. But then, he witnessed firsthand that even though he may lose sight of how much he means to others, others never lose sight of how much he means to them. When George needs help, the entire community leaps into action.
Instead of telling a story about Christmas as it relates to presents and material possessions, “It’s A Wonderful Life” reminds us what Christmas is all about. There is no mention of presents or buying gifts. Instead, families gather to help each other in their times of need. For George Bailey and for everyone around him, Christmas isn’t about what you get, it’s about what you have, and the people who love you and who make your life so very wonderful.
So this Christmas, I hope that amid exchanging gifts and making merry, you and yours pop in “It’s A Wonderful Life” and count all of your blessings, remembering to put each other at the very top. Because if you have a family and friends that care for and love you the way George Bailey does, you really do have a wonderful life.
