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You Can't Take It with You


MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
219 .......................... 251

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September 8th

—— 1938 ——
YOU
CAN'T
TAKE IT
WITH
YOU

—— comedy ——



"Maybe it'll stop you trying to be so desperate about making more money than you can ever use?
You can't take it with you, Mr. Kirby. So what good is it?"


I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one but I was honestly surprised by ‘You Can’t Take It with You’ and found it to be a fun and amusing time to be had. Many people don’t seem to like it and I do agree that the film is kind of dated and the drama and writing feels forced from time to time, especially when it reaches for sentimentality and silly remarks about important stuff, which ultimately feels fluffy in its delivery and approach.

The story was actually well enough written within its own set-up of slap-stick and silly jokes and the simplicity and straightforward approach was fine by me, particularly since the characters and their actions was what drove this movie forward in my opinion. It was their individual personalities and their multiple interactions that ultimately created this chaotic but comical outcome, which sets the tone and tempo for the entire film. The freehanded feel of the film made me sit back in my comfortable chair and chuckle at the completely crazy situation happening on screen. I can clearly see how this story has been adapted from a play and perhaps that is both its strength and weakness.

Maybe you can’t take it with you, but you can take it for what it is and choose to go along with it – at least that is what I did. My company with the cozy yet critically quirky characters from the Sycamore family was an amusing time, and even more so, when the Kirby clan showed up to create some serious contrast and stir things up even more than before. The story starts out rather simple, with the Kirby’s wanting to buy off the house of the Sycamore’s, but everything changes once a spark has been ignited between the son and daughter, respectively, of the two families. I enjoyed this film for what it was and whatever weight it doesn't have it doesn't want either. I guess you could say the same about this review, which may be a little lightweight and lackluster in comparison to other stuff I have done. But you have to remember; when compared to absolute greatness, the lesser stuff is still kind of good after all…


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