1938: You Can't Take It With You

So, I finally watched You Can't Take It With You, starring James Stewart and Jean Arthur, directed by Frank Capra. I didn't hate this movie; however, for the standards set by the ten films before it, I can't understand why it won Best Picture. The acting was great; the world of the film was cohesive; the characters were all unique and fully formed; and don't get me started on the way James Stewart looks at Jean Arthur. (I personally think that the way James Stewart looks at his leading ladies is enough on its own to win him an Oscar for every movie he's ever been in, and that's a hill I'll die on, but I digress.) It's simply a feel-good movie about people from very different backgrounds finding common ground on what's truly important in life - the "it" that you can't take with you. (For those who freak out when someone in the movie says the title, this movie has it all.)

But I don't know what makes it the BEST. Wings won Best Picture for its groundbreaking filming techniques. Mutiny On The Bounty won for the scope of its story and the grandness of the spectacle. I personally don't think You Can't Take It With You had anything groundbreaking about it. This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy the movie, but when put in a Best Picture context, I can't help but to be slightly disappointed. 

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I started writing the above column in late August 2021; it is now June of 2023. I came back to this movie well over a year later to refresh my memory, and upon another viewing, and more than 18 months of reflection, have come to appreciate the message. While the Kirby family seems to have it all - money, esteem, fame, respect - they aren't the happy ones in this story. The Sycamore family are all artists and individuals. While Grandpa literally has something that Kirby wants (Kirby Sr. is trying to purchase the land that Grandpa's house is sitting on in order to erect a factory and in so doing perpetuating his own wealth), Kirby Sr. realizes that there is more to covet of the Sycamore family than just real estate. The Sycamores have creative freedom; they have the love and unwavering support of their family; they lead a largely fearless and fail-safe existence; they have a safety net made strong by the bonds and respect of those around them. The unconditional acceptance of their fellow Sycamores fosters an unbreakable bond between kids and their elders, as well as a trust and familial relationship with their entire neighborhood. The storytelling and the stark contrast between these two families sets up a beautiful foil between Anthony Kirby Sr. and Martin Vanderhof, or Grandpa, as he is called by everyone including his neighbors. 

The Kirby's, on the other hand, have an extremely conditional relationship with their son. When Tony, played by James Stewart, tells his mother that he intends to marry Alice Sycamore, played by Jean Arthur, who is employed as his secretary, Mrs. Kirby throws a holier-than-thou fit about how it's just a phase he's in and he'll get over her, but how terrified she is that he seems to be quite serious about someone who is not good enough for him. Tony begs for his parents to meet Alice and her family and to truly put in effort to get to know them, and (on purpose) brings them for dinner a day earlier than planned. In true farcical fashion, chaos ensues. A truckload of fireworks explode in the basement, police come to interrogate Alice's brother-in-law for alleged Communist actions, Alice's sister's Russian ballet instructor lifts Kirby Sr. over his shoulder and body slams him onto the floor, and then everybody gets sent to jail. Upon Alice's embarrassment over Tony's deliberate misunderstanding, she ends their relationship and flees the city, making her entire family swear to not tell Tony where she is going; the heartbreak she endures by not only having the Kirby's see her family's true colors, but also seeing Tony's, is too much for her to endure.

To be fair, there is a very clear and distinct three act structure, which is to be expected as it was adapted from a play. I never read the play, but from what I could tell, Act I was the exposition and introduction of all characters up until the fireworks display, Act II was the jail and Alice's departure, and Act III was Kirby Sr.'s resolution with Grandpa and his discovery of what joy feels like. Grandpa has Kirby Sr. play the harmonica, and as he is reminded of the simple joys of creative expression, his grinch-like exterior melts, and he is seemingly revived into a world where he sees what Grandpa was trying to get him to see all along. What can't you take with you? I guess Grandpa is trying to say that you can't take any of it - your wealth, your land, your factories, sure, but also the love of your family, your memories, your stories, your warehouse full of inventions, creations, and fireworks. For the lovely message the film imparts, I would venture a guess that it won Best Picture for its Thought.

My current ranking (PRE-rewatch):

1. Mutiny On The Bounty

2. Grand Hotel

3. Wings

4. All Quiet On The Western Front

5. The Life of Emile Zola

6. It Happened One Night

7. The Broadway Melody

8. Cavalcade

9. The Great Ziegfeld

10. You Can't Take It With You

11. Cimarron

My (ACTUAL) current ranking:

1. Mutiny On The Bounty

2. Grand Hotel

3. Wings

4. All Quite On The Western Front

5. The Life of Emile Zola

6. It Happened One Night

7. You Can't Take It With You

8. The Broadway Melody

9. Cavalcade

10. The Great Ziegfeld

11. Cimarron

Up next - and the reason I've held off so long on moving forward with this project - is an absolute bear of a film: Gone With The Wind. I've seen it already, but the time commitment...