Charles Herold (cherold) There are some film "classics" that I simply cannot find joy in them, and You Can't Take it With You stands with other films like Philadelphia Story that are beloved but leave me cold.I have attempted to watch this more than once, because I know I'm supposed to like it, and because the mix of a great cast, director, and play should equate to greatness, but I'm not sure I've ever made it to the end. I just get bored.The idea of a house of free-spirited eccentrics is an appealing one, but the film's determined effort to show wackiness and chaos feels forced, and the characters are, for the most part, determinedly one- dimensional. Much of the problem is there's no true philosophy behind it. It's a movie where the grand patriarch makes vaguely Libertarian remarks but ultimately just seems to be into a sort of Americana ethos with no specifics to it. It's a movie that says we should follow our dreams, but the residents have no money worries and employ (black) servants who are not themselves encouraged to follow *their* dreams. These aren't artsy bohemians, these are just people with a lot of time on their hands.Thus, I not only find the movie dull but, as I continue watching, increasingly objectionable. It's really just kind of dumb.At least I could make it to the end of Philadelphia Story!

Sean Lamberger The cheery, upbeat tale of a proudly bohemian family and their efforts to find common ground with the snooty, stuffed-shirt parents of a future son-in-law. I don't usually go for such brash, in-your-face optimism, but something about this ragtag group of merry, welcoming, open-hearted characters really struck a chord. Though it brims with loud personality - new faces pile in by the fistful each time we visit the house - there's a shocking level of character development at play here. That can be partially attributed to its roots in theater, and the associated volumes of dialog that are breathlessly peppered in, but I think just as much credit must go to the actors, who commit wholeheartedly to their roles (no matter how silly) and smoothly grant fast, earnest credibility. Stereotypes abound in the plot, from the sinister banker looking to tear down a merry little village to the happy-go-lucky grandpa who's always got the perfect sentimental speech prepared, but that legitimacy of character (plus the film's age) makes it all feel like a natural fit. And really, don't some themes ring eternal? A true classic that warms the heart and reminds us to slow down and ensure we're still getting all we want from life.

SnoopyStyle Greedy Anthony P. Kirby (Edward Arnold) is trying to monopolize the weapons industry by buying up the land surrounding a competitor. Grandpa Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore) is holding out. He doesn't care about money and refuses to sell his home. Unbeknownst to everybody involved, Kirby's son Tony (James Stewart) is in love with stenographer Alice Sycamore (Jean Arthur), the granddaughter. He proposes to her and they bring her eccentric family together with his stuffy family.I don't find the Vanderhof family that much fun. They're trying too hard. It's another time and my sense of humor doesn't fit. The movie works best with Stewart and Arthur but at times, they seem to be the side show. The basic structure is there. I guess it's always been there. It's a fine Capra movie but it just doesn't strike me as that funny.

The_Film_Cricket Frank Capra's work a window on a time before American idealism was replaced by the more modern trend of cynicism, the age that was washed out by the devastating experiences of World War II, Vietnam and Watergate. This kind of early positive Americanism is long gone and it is such a gift to have Capra's work to remind us of a time long gone. In that way, his films are invaluable In 1934, Capra hit the ground running with "It Happened One Night", a film so successful and with such a far-reaching effect that it basically invented the institution of the screwball comedy and the romantic comedy. 80 years later, it still holds up. He won the Oscar for that film, and four years later won again for his adaptation of George Kaufman and Moss Hart's stage success "You Can't Take It With You", which had been so successful that it won the Pulitzer Prize. Capra's adaptation won Best Picture yet, while it contains all of Capra's trademark, time has not been kind and, in spite of its status in Oscar history it has more or less slipped into the dustbins of history.The movie isn't bad, just dated. The story is clunky with over-sized characterization and an antiquated theme about the value of friends over money. The story involves Capra's favorite kind of villain, the heartless corporate businessman, in this case a certain Anthony P. Kirby (Edward Arnold) The C.E.O. of Kirby and Co., a bank that seems to be booming despite the depression. Kirby wants to expand his business to get in on the munitions market and needs land to do it. He has been successful so far at buying out the residents except for one hold out who won't sell even when offered four times what the house is worth.The man causing the trouble is Martin Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore), a genial Joe who plays the harmonica and refuses to work in favor of having fun. His reason for holding out on the sale is simple: He places a value on the memories that he has tied to the house over any kind of money that Kirby is willing to shell out. Kirby is the kind of bullish business man who doesn't take no for an answer and orders his underlings to get Vanderhof and his family out of the house by any means necessary.Meanwhile, Kirby's sweet-natured son Tony (Jimmy Stewart) has become engaged to Alice Sycamore, his secretary. Unknown to either party, Alice is actually Vanderhof's granddaughter. She's actually the only normal member of the family. The rest are defined by their quirks. Sister Essie (Ann Miller) dances everywhere she goes. Her husband Ed (Dub Taylor) plays the xylophone. Penny (Spring Byington), Alices's mother bangs away on the typewriter. Paul, Alice's father (Samuel S. Hinds), plays with erector sets. A defected Russian named Boris (Mischa Auer) hangs around the house and acts as Essie's dance instructor. And a new member of the household, Mr. Poppins (Donald Meek), likes to make things.Everyone in the house has a personality quirk and they are so quirky because Mr. Vanderhof allows their qualities to flourish. He describes his household as "a place where everyone does what they want." Naturally, it isn't long before the blue-blooded Kirby's and the bohemian Sycamores have a culture clash that brings Vanderhof to full-froth over Kirby's greed and lack of humanity. It's all too obvious.Nothing seems to work here. The message is inane and dated. The characters are all types, not people. The romance is dull, which is surprising given that they are played by Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur. The movie has no grace or reality. It is the kind of movie that is set up to push its message and does so with the hammer. What once seemed fresh and original has dated badly, especially in the wake of similar social message pictures that Capra would make later like "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "It's a Wonderful Life". What we have here is third-rate Capra, the work of a director whose films would improve over time.** (of four)