It's a Wonderful Life

One of my favorite movies (and definitely my favorite Christmas movie) is Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. When IAWL was released in theatres on Christmas Day in 1946, it was met with a lukewarm, at best, response by critics and audiences alike. It’s too bad because it has a little bit of everything – a boy and man whose dreams are bigger than his life? Check. Great musical score? I don’t hear Auld Lang Syne and not tear up thinking of the ending with Zuzu and that stinking bell ringing and George declaring “attaboy, Clarence!” I’m sniffling now. Romance? Oh, yeah. You have adult Violet trolloping around town, but my favorite vixen is young Violet who makes every play in the book to get young George’s attention but, alas, her charms cannot compete with the boy’s dreams of adventure. Speaking of adventure, there’s a couple of car chase scenes which had to be ahead of their time in the mid-1940s. Then there’s George and Clarence jumping off the bridge. Did they have stuntmen back then? You have the character you love to hate in Mr. Potter; the affable underdog in George; and the steadfast believer in Mary. Uncle Billy provides comedic relief in the form of the requisite alcoholic relative who throws a kink in the storyline.

The movie offers so much. My absolute favorite piece of the story, though, is George’s battle with himself. All his life, he’s dreamed of something bigger, better, different. He wanted adventure and to do something important that would make a difference in other’s lives. He thought he had to sail halfway around the world to accomplish this and, eventually, discovers he has been living his dream all along…just not how he’d imagined it. 

The apex of the film occurs on Christmas Eve when George reaches his limit and cannot imagine an alternative to taking his life. He drives through town, contemplates jumping off a bridge, and his failed attempt is disrupted by a guardian angel sent to him in the form of Clarence, a dim-witted yet loving 292-year-old watchmaker.

The last part of the film is dedicated to Clarence giving George a glimpse into how the town and all its inhabitants would have turned out had George’s wish of “I wish I’d never been born” been granted. George sees firsthand the impact and effect his life (and words and actions) had on everyone else.

Why am I thinking of a Christmas movie today? Because today is my parents’ anniversary. If my mother was alive, they would have been married 48 years today. So, today seemed a good day to take account and be thankful.

If this hadn’t happened:

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Eagan, June 18, 1966

Then this wouldn’t have happened:

Valerie, April 16, 1974

Or this:

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Mangrum, September 20, 1997

And certainly not this, which I simply cannot imagine:

Calleigh, August 27, 2004

Life is good. In fact, it's wonderful.

"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"  --Clarence Oddbody