You Can't Take It with You (1938)

It's your typical rich family vs not rich family comedy. I guess it paved the way to creating this comedy sub-genre but after seeing so many i find it hard to really enjoy it anymore.It's about the two young lovers from families with different approaches in life and their struggle making their parents like each other.

A man from a family of rich snobs becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family.Frank Capra has a certain sensibility that people associate with him. And that sensibility you expect will certainly be evident here. This is like a cross between his "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Arsenic and Old Lace". The eccentric scenes are great, with dancing and music for no real reason. There is a discussion of income taxes and what good they serve. (Keep in mind income tax started around 1913, so people of the time knew an era without it.) And best of all, we have a rat. A rat with hair on it. That cracked me up pretty hard.

not only for splendid work of Frank Capra or for the high performance of Lionel Barrymore. but for the political, social, cultural analyze, for the wise manner to use a comedy as perfect tool for present realistic portrait of America. it is adventure and love and seduction and chaos and bitter references and joy and beauty in this film who seems be complete. because it has not only the ordinary Capra's charm but the force to be today more important than in 1938. same problems, more challenges. and a precise sketch about crisis, searches, solutions. and, sure, magnificent flavor of freedom. an evergreen movie. comedy, drama and a lot of humor. all as expressions of a great talent of director and the cast.

A young banker falls for an attractive secretary, who lives in the kooky, eccentric family of Grandpa Sycamore. When the banker's parents meets this family, not only are they surprised of how crazy their personalities are, but of the way they want to live their lives. And that's what succeeds the most about You Can't Take it With You. It's a classic screwball comedy, but its heartwarming message sums up the overall film as a whole, that while we may have untold riches and wealth, without the love of friends and happiness, you're a complete and utter failure. Lionel Barrymore gives likely one of cinema's most profound characters to grace Hollywood cinema, as his speeches about laid-back happiness and eternal optimism are so true, even in today's faster-paced society. There's also great performances from Jean Arthur and Jimmy Stewart, and like the message, the comedy is flawless.