Misplaced Pages

#360639

39-457: You Can't Take It with You is a 1938 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Capra , and starring Jean Arthur , Lionel Barrymore , James Stewart , and Edward Arnold . Adapted by Robert Riskin from the Pulitzer Prize -winning 1936 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart , the film is about a man from a family of rich snobs who becomes engaged to a woman from

78-465: A bank accountant named Poppins to quit work and pursue his dream of making animated toys. Kirby's son, Tony, a vice president in the family company, has fallen in love with a company stenographer , Alice Sycamore. When Tony proposes marriage, Alice is worried that her family would be looked upon poorly by Tony's rich and famous family. In fact, Alice is the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, led by Vanderhof. Vanderhof describes

117-416: A bit here and there, though as standing it is never tiresome". Film Daily wrote: "Smoothly directed, naturally acted and carefully produced, 'You Can't Take It With You' has all the elements of screen entertainment that the fans could wish for." "Excellent", wrote Harrison's Reports . "Robert Riskin did a fine job in adapting it from the stage play for he wisely placed emphasis on the human rather than on

156-435: A good-natured but decidedly eccentric family. A critical and commercial success, the film received two Academy Awards , one for Best Picture and another for Best Director for Frank Capra . This was Capra's third Oscar for Best Director in just five years, following It Happened One Night (1934) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). Successful banker Anthony P. Kirby has just returned from Washington, D.C. , where he

195-515: A sensation in the papers, and Alice flees the city. With Alice gone, Grandpa decides to sell the house, thus meaning all his neighbors must vacate to prepare for building the new factory. Now, the Kirby companies merge, creating a huge fluctuation in the stock market and ruining Ramsey, Kirby's competitor. Ramsey dies after confronting Kirby for being ruthless and a failure of a man, saying he too will end up ruined, alone and friendless. Kirby realizes Ramsey

234-799: A sense of awkwardness between the two potential partners by depicting an initial clash of personalities or beliefs, an embarrassing situation, or by introducing a comical misunderstanding or mistaken identity situation. Sometimes, the term is used without a hyphen (a "meet cute"), or as a verb ("to meet cute"). Roger Ebert describes the "concept of a Meet Cute" as "when boy meets girl in a cute way." As an example, he cites "The Meet Cute in Lost and Found [which] has Jackson and Segal running their cars into each other in Switzerland. Once recovered, they Meet Cute again when they run into each other while on skis. Eventually, they fall in love." In many romantic comedies,

273-593: Is also found in children's music , including the Sunday school song "O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E", "Radio Lollipop" by the German group die Lollipops , and the Barney & Friends songs "Alphabet Soup" (using only the tune of the first verse) and "If I Had One Wish" (which uses both verses). In his medley " Schticks of One and Half a Dozen of the Other " (1963), Allan Sherman sings a song using

312-531: Is closer to tragicomedy ." It was not until the development of the literary tradition of romantic love in the western European medieval period, though, that "romance" came to refer to "romantic love" situations. They were previously referred to as the heroic adventures of medieval Romance . Those adventures traditionally focused on a knight's feats on behalf of a lady, so the modern themes of love were quickly woven into them, as in Chrétien de Troyes 's Lancelot,

351-488: Is right, he is heading for the same fate, and leaves the meeting where the contract signing is scheduled to occur. Tony quietly confronts his father, saying he's quit the company and never wanted it in the first place. As the Vanderhofs are vacating the house, Tony tries to speak with Alice. Kirby arrives and talks privately with Grandpa, sharing his realization. Grandpa responds by inviting him to play " Polly Wolly Doodle " on

390-514: The film ends on a happy note . Even though it is implied that they live happily ever after, it does not always state what that happy ending will be. The couple does not necessarily get married for it to be a "happily ever after". The conclusion of a romantic comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in the protagonists' lives, even if they physically separate in the end (e.g., Shakespeare in Love , Roman Holiday ). Most of

429-548: The Knight of the Cart . The contemporary romantic comedy genre was shaped by 18th-century Restoration comedy and 19th-century romantic melodrama . Restoration comedies were typically comedies of manners that relied on knowledge of the complex social rules of high society, particularly related to navigating the marriage-market, an inherent feature of the plot in many of these plays, such as William Wycherley 's The Country Wife . While

SECTION 10

#1732859052361

468-477: The October 2, 1939, broadcast of Lux Radio Theatre with Edward Arnold, Robert Cummings and Fay Wray . A line from this film, "Confidentially, she stinks!", said by Kolenkov the ballet master about one of his students, was used in a few Looney Tunes cartoons from the 1940s. In 2013, Sony Colorworks and Prasad Corporation digitally restored the film, removing dirt, tears, scratches and other artifacts to emulate

507-471: The characters already has a partner or because of social pressures. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are attracted to each other and that they would be a good love match. The characters often split or seek time apart in order to sort out their emotions or deal with external obstacles to being together, which they eventually overcome. While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them usually realizes that they love

546-553: The charges for disturbing the peace and making illegal fireworks by assessing a fine, for which Grandpa's neighborhood friends pitch in to pay. He repeatedly asks why the Kirbys were at the Vanderhof house. When Grandpa, attempting to help Kirby, says it was to talk over selling the house, Alice has an outburst and says it was because she was engaged to Tony, but is spurning him because of how poorly she has been treated by his family. This causes

585-708: The decades. We can see this through the screwball comedy in response to the censorship of the Hays Code in the 1920s–1930s, the career woman comedy (such as George Stevens' Woman of the Year , starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy ) post-WWII, and the sex comedy made popular by Rock Hudson and Doris Day in the 1950s–1960s. Over the years, romantic comedies have slowly been becoming more popular to both men and women. They have begun to spread out of their conventional and traditional structure into other territory, and to explore more complex topics. These films still follow

624-420: The director's better, more timeless offerings" due to the dated nature of screwball comedies and the "innocence permeating the movie that doesn't play as well during an era when audiences value darkness in even the lightest of comedies. Still, You Can't Take it with You provides a pleasant enough two hours along with a reminder of how era-specific the criteria for winning an Oscar are". Rotten Tomatoes gives

663-460: The fact that these films are still romantic comedies. One of the conventions of romantic comedy films is the entertainment factor in a contrived encounter of two potential romantic partners in unusual or comic circumstances, which film critics such as Roger Ebert or the Associated Press's Christy Lemire have called a " meet-cute " situation. During a "meet-cute", scriptwriters often create

702-442: The families and businesses in the twelve-block area Kirby wants. Kirby and his wife strongly disapprove of Tony's choice for marriage. Tony not only loves Alice but feels she encourages his taste for spontaneous fun and farcical humor. Before she accepts, Alice forces Tony to bring his family to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, but when Tony purposely brings his family on the wrong day (reasoning that he would rather

741-447: The farcical side of the story; yet he did this without sacrificing any of the comedy angles." John Mosher of The New Yorker thought that the stage version was superior, writing that many of the story's new additions for the screen made the film "a long one and at times a ponderous thing, the more so the further from the play the screen version strays". Reviewing the film in 2010, James Berardinelli wrote that it "hasn't fared as well as

780-414: The film a rating of 94% from 79 reviews and an average rating of 7.50/10. The consensus summarizes: "It's predictably uplifting fare from Frank Capra, perhaps the most consciously uplifting of all great American directors – but thanks to immensely appealing performances and a nimble script, You Can't Take It with You is hard not to love." You Can't Take it with You was adapted as a one-hour radio play on

819-482: The film's original look. Romantic comedy The basic plot of a romantic comedy is that two characters meet , part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately, realize their love for one another and reunite. Sometimes the two leads meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes they are hesitant to become romantically involved because they believe they do not like each other. This could be because one of

SECTION 20

#1732859052361

858-441: The fireworks in the basement go off, they arrest everyone in the house. Held in the drunk tank preparing to see the night-court judge, Mrs. Kirby repeatedly insults Alice and makes her feel unworthy of Tony, while Grandpa explains to Kirby the importance of having friends, and that despite all the wealth and success in business, "you can't take it with you". At the court hearing, the judge allows for Grandpa and his family to settle

897-436: The follies and misunderstandings of young lovers, in a light‐hearted and happily concluded manner which usually avoids serious satire". This reference states that the "best‐known examples are Shakespeare's comedies of the late 1590s, A Midsummer Night's Dream , Twelfth Night , and As You Like It being the most purely romantic, while Much Ado About Nothing approaches the comedy of manners and The Merchant of Venice

936-720: The gender role that society has imposed upon them, as seen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall , in which the male protagonist is especially in touch with his emotions. It can also be seen in Made of Honor , in which the female bridesmaids are shown in a negative and somewhat masculine light in order to advance the likability of the male lead. Other remakes of romantic comedies involve similar elements, but they explore more adult themes such as marriage, responsibility, or even disability. Two films by Judd Apatow , This Is 40 and Knocked Up , deal with these issues. This Is 40 chronicles

975-654: The harmonica that Kirby gave him. The two let loose with the rest of the family joining in the merriment, and Alice decides to reunite with Tony. Later, at the dinner table, Grandpa says grace for the Sycamore family and the Kirbys, revealing that Kirby has sold back the houses on the block. In 1937, Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures bought the film rights of the original play for $ 200,000 ($ 3,589,000 in 2019). After seeing actor James Stewart portray "a sensitive, heart-grabbing role in MGM's Navy Blue and Gold ", Frank Capra cast Stewart for

1014-437: The living arrangement as " lilies of the field " in that they engage in work they enjoy and run their own businesses . Granddaughter Essie makes and sells candy, her husband Ed Carmichael is a musician and printer, her father Paul manufactures fireworks in the basement with resident DePinna, and so on. Unbeknownst to the players, Alice's family lives in the house that will not sell. Vanderhof is protecting not only his property but

1053-557: The melodramas of the Romantic period had little to do with comedy, they were hybrids incorporating elements of domestic and sentimental tragedies, pantomime "with an emphasis on gesture, on the body, and the thrill of the chase," and other genres of expression such as songs and folk tales. In the 20th century, as Hollywood grew, the romantic comedy in America mirrored other aspects of society in its rapid changes, developing many sub-genres through

1092-429: The mid-life crisis of a couple entering their 40s, and Knocked Up addresses unintended pregnancy and the ensuing assuming of responsibility. Silver Linings Playbook deals with mental illness and the courage to start a new relationship. All of these go against the stereotype of what romantic comedy has become as a genre. Yet, the genre of romantic comedy is simply a structure, and all of these elements do not negate

1131-436: The other person. Then, one character makes some extravagant effort (sometimes called a grand gesture ) to find the other character and declare their love. However, this is not always the case; sometimes, there is a coincidental encounter where the two characters meet again. Alternatively, one character plans a romantic gesture to show that they still care. Then, with some comic friction, they declare their love for each other, and

1170-524: The other zombies and even starts to cure them. With the zombie cure, the two main characters can now be together since they do not have a barrier between them anymore. Another strange set of circumstances is in Zack and Miri Make a Porno where the two protagonists are building a relationship while trying to make a pornographic film together. Both these films take the typical story arc and then add strange circumstances to add originality. Other romantic comedies flip

1209-405: The potential couple comprises polar opposites, two people of different temperaments, situations, social statuses, or all three ( It Happened One Night ), who would not meet or talk under normal circumstances, and the meet cute's contrived situation provides the opportunity for these two people to meet. Polly Wolly Doodle "Polly Wolly Doodle" is a traditional American children's song. It

You Can't Take It with You (film) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-469: The role of leading male character, Tony Kirby, to "[fit] his concept of idealized America". Barrymore's infirmity was incorporated into the plot of the film. His character was on crutches the entire movie, which was said to be due to an accident from sliding down the banister. In reality, it was due to his increasing arthritis – earlier in the year he had been forced to withdraw from the movie A Christmas Carol . Ann Miller, who plays Essie Carmichael,

1287-469: The standard conventions of the romantic comedy genre. In films like 500 Days of Summer , the two main interests do not end up together, leaving the protagonist somewhat distraught. Other films, like Adam, have the two main interests end up separated but still content and pursuing other goals and love interests. Some romantic comedies use reversal of gender roles to add comedic effect. These films contain characters who possess qualities that diverge from

1326-401: The time the ending gives the audience a sense that if it is true love, it will always prevail, no matter what the two characters have to overcome. Comedies, rooted in the fertility rites and satyr plays of ancient Greece , have often incorporated sexual or social elements. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms defines romantic comedy as "a general term for comedies that deal mainly with

1365-405: The two families meet as they are, not in a formal "stuffed-shirt" setting), the Sycamore family is caught off-guard, and the house is in disarray. As the Kirbys are preparing to leave after a rather disastrous meeting, the police arrive in response to what they perceive as printed threats on flyers, made by Ed as Independence Day promotions ("the revolution is coming", etc.) for Paul's fireworks. When

1404-462: The typical plot of "a light and humorous movie, play, etc., whose central plot is a happy love story" but with more complexity. Some romantic comedies have adopted special circumstances for the main characters, as in Warm Bodies where the protagonist is a zombie who falls in love with a human girl after eating her boyfriend. The effect of their love towards each other is that it starts spreading to

1443-418: Was effectively granted a government-sanctioned munitions monopoly , which will make him very rich. He intends to buy a 12-block radius around a competitor's factory to put him out of business, but one household refuses to sell. Kirby instructs his real-estate broker, John Blakely, to offer the household a huge sum, and if they still refuse, to cause trouble for the family. Meanwhile, Grandpa Vanderhof convinces

1482-430: Was only 15 when You Can't Take It with You was filmed. Frank Nugent of The New York Times called the film "a grand picture, which will disappoint only the most superficial admirers of the play". Variety called it "fine audience material and over the heads of no one. The comedy is wholly American, wholesome, homespun, human, appealing, and touching in turn." The review suggested that "it could have been edited down

1521-499: Was sung by Dan Emmett 's Virginia Minstrels , who premiered at New York's Bowery Amphitheatre in February 1843, and is often credited to Emmett (1815–1904). The melody of the song, as it is usually sung, formed the basis for Francis Blanche 's 1946 song (recorded by Lily Fayol ) " Le Gros Bill ", Boney M. 's hit " Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday " in 1979, as well as for Alexandra Burke 's song " Start Without You ". The tune

#360639