It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 film produced by Frank Capra, who also served as the director for this movie. It is based on the short story "The Greatest Gift,” which Philip Van Doren Stern wrote in 1939 and published privately in 1945. The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, who is a man who has dedicated his life to improving the lives of his fellow residents of Bedford Falls. His guardian angel Clarence, who is played by Henry Travers, is summoned through George’s imminent suicide on Christmas Eve. Clarence urges George to realize the impact that his existence has had on everyone that he has been in contact with and shows him how different life in his community would have been without him there.

When I watched It’s a Wonderful Life years ago, I had a hard time understanding just what was going on in the movie. This lack of comprehension on my part was the cause for my strong negative opinion on the movie, which I carried with me until I recently gave it another shot. I was sure that I would feel the same way about the movie that I did eight years ago, but I was surprised to find that It’s a Wonderful Life is much easier to swallow now that I actually know what’s going on. That being said, though the confusion is gone, I still can’t wholeheartedly say that I loved the movie. The story behind it was nice, but I couldn't really become emotionally invested in it like I do with other films.

Some things that certainly hindered my ability to fully enjoy the movie were the poor special effects. The sets weren’t very realistic. You could tell where the background was just a backdrop of a house with a fence in front of it, for example. The representation of George’s deceased relatives as stars in the sky as they make predictions and observations about his life is also painfully unrealistic. In addition to this, the film was in black and white. I think that there is value to adding color to make the visual representation of a movie more vibrant and alive. Though this was a minor detail in the big scheme of things, I think the fact that there was no color added to my overall distaste for the movie. This being said, one must keep in consideration that It’s a Wonderful Life was created in the late 1940’s, when film making was still a growing industry. I’m sure that in it’s time, this movie was just great. But now, what with modern cinematic technology such as 3D and animation, a film like this doesn’t seem so impressive.

I can only speak for myself when I say that It’s a Wonderful Life didn’t appeal to me as an eighteen year old girl. It was definitely created for a more mature audience, which is possibly why I just couldn't connect with it as deeply as I would have hoped to. I would consider myself to have the same interest in the kinds of movies that twelve year old boys would. Though I can comfortably say that I think that the plot line of the film was solid, my experience with it was that the visual representation of It’s a Wonderful Life completely ruined my overall opinion on the movie with its bad special effects and unrealistic sets.