Fifty-one years before
DONNIE DARKO, but more in spirit with
YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, HARVEY is the idealistic story of a wealthy man, Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy
Stewart), who lives in a small town and has a 6' 3.5" tall rabbit for a best
friend. The rabbits name is Harvey and they tell each other
everything. Thing is nobody else can see Harvey. They're too busy
with their lives and relationships and jobs. They can't be bothered to be
born rich and crazy and spend their evenings walking around with a 6' 3.5" tall
rabbit. Elwood's sister, Veta (Josephine Hull), wants Elwood placed in a
mental institution for his own good. Also, so she and her daughter can get
along with their lives and not have their social standing destroyed by having a
screwball brother on full display. That's easier said than done because it
seems that everywhere Elwood goes people open up and really take a liking to
him...it's almost as if he has an guardian angel watching over him.
As long as you accept HARVEY in it's own reality it's a fine film. Of
course, if you had somebody like Elwood P. Dowd living in your house you'd think
he was as crazy as a loon. But as a film, HARVEY is delightful. The
story is charming, Josephine Hull is hilarious, the story is imaginative, the
dialogue is so much fun to watch spin round and round, solid direction, good
pace, the camerawork is clever (I like how in a lot of shots there's extra space
left for Harvey), excellent supporting cast and Jimmy Stewart...wow! The
wonderful Josephine Hull rightfully won the Best Actress Oscar for her
performance here, but I'm very tempted to say that Mr. Stewart should have also
won for his performance. I can't think, off the top of my handsome head,
of another actor that could have pulled off the role of Elwood P. Dowd as
masterfully as he did. Great stuff.
Recommended for the unjaded.
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