Tina Giordanella

It's a Wonderful Life is one of my all-time favourite movies. I don't care what anyone says. It's well-written, beautifully acted and many of its themes are timeless. We watch George Bailey start off his life as a hopeful and ambitious young man who wants nothing more than to sail off and discover the world. As a young man, the world is his oyster and his to discover. But, as life would have it, things don't always turn out the way we planned or wanted them to. George is cursed with the urge to always do the right thing, even if it means delaying his own plans and happiness. It's his desire to always help others and put the needs of his community first that eventually places a great deal of pressure on his shoulders, more than any one person can bare. Eventually, when the pressure gets to a boiling point, he decides to commit suicide. At this point, he meets his guardian angel, Clarence, who helps George see what the world and the people he loves would turn out like if he was never born. This realization brings George to the conclusion that he wants to live and helps him find a new appreciation for the life he had and the people who were in it. I feel like a lot of the themes in this film are still very much relevant to this day and that's why It's A Wonderful Life has stood the test of time, naysayers and critics be damned!

I absolutely adore this movie! I saw it last year on the big screen around Christmas time and it was just wonderful. Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn were delightful in it as well. If you like a feel-good Christmas movie, this is it.