A friend of ours is, like us, a big fan of classic movies, so he brought this over when he visited this weekend.  I’ve been sort of lukewarm on Jimmy Stewart, thanks to too much forced viewing of “It’s a Wonderful Life” every year, but thanks to “After the Thin Man” and “Vertigo” i’m starting to re-assess my position.  I was also not very familiar with Lionel Barrymore (aside from his portrayal of Mr. Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life”), which seemed like a gross oversight that needed to be rectified.

And, wow, i came out of this movie loving both Barrymore and Stewart.  This was a relatively fun movie anyway, but those 2 certainly raised it way up from being merely a watchable movie and a pleasant way to pass the time.

I was utterly delighted by the freeform nature of life in the Sycamore household, and have to admit i kept wondering how they managed to pull that off — how did they come to own the house and to regularly put food on the table and clothes on their bodies?  I was fairly disappointed to discover that Grandpa Vanderhof had actually been a banking executive back in the day.  Then again, i suppose i shouldn’t be looking for realistic, workable depictions of alternative lifestyles from studio movies like this.

Still a fun movie, tho’.  And as a Christian who has issues with most prayers performed prayed in public, i was delighted by Grandpa’s casual, intimate style of talking with God in saying grace before meals.