May. 22, 2002 - 1:30 am
see, i knew i could see 2 movies in one night. You Can't Take It with You won Best Picture for 1938. it was also the third film in five years that won Best Director for Frank Capra. he had also recently won with It Happened One Night (1934) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). (i can't believe they're doing an Adam Sandler remake. it might be funny, but i think it will help to downplay the genius of the first film for the next few years unfortunately.)
this movie was fairly good. Capra uses a lot of the same actors in this film that appear in other films of his. Jimmy Stewart and Lionel Barrymore, Samuel S. Hinds and Jean Arthur. this is basically a screwball comedy. it's sort of in line with Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, but it's not quite as funny. i think it actually has to do with the cinematography. i felt like we were watching things at too great a distance. not a lot of closeups when they needed to be there. i was also really surprised that Jimmy Stewart played such a minor role in this film. although, this is actually the his chronological first film that i've seen. he didn't do Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) with Capra until the following year. weird. i guess it is logical that he wouldn't be the "lead" then.
awesome performance by Lionel Barrymore in this film. you'll remember him best as Mr. Potter in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946). he's a really likeable character here though. i guess this "screwball comedy" just didn't make me laugh enough, so i have to give it a 7/10.