This movie could be slightly better if Senator Smith's proposal wasn't the stupidest idea I've ever heard. His idea isn't child-like, it's retard-like. It's fucking dumb. Despite all this, the movie remains watchable today, except for the fact that we easily could begun with the moment that Smith was named Senator. The beginning drags on, unnecessarily. Luckily for us the movie sets itself on a uniform trajectory from kinda bad to pretty good.

Today, the story told here is a dream and a fantasy, as there is too much cynicism and vitriol spewed at and within Washington on a daily basis for the Founding Fathers' virtues and ideals to have any place. Nevertheless, this is a pretty great time capsule of a film, in a time when Americans had faith in their government getting them out of a crisis. Although, it feels like one of those "How a Bill becomes a Law" educational cartoons sometimes.

395

Another of Capra's classics that assails politics, corruption and common economics. Stewart is always an elation to watch, and here he is just as uplifting as he has been in the rest of his filmography.

Naive and exaggerated? Sure, but it's charmingly naive and appropriately exaggerated. Capra makes movies that look at morality and integrity in black and white terms. It's not the kind of world view I want from every film I see, but it works wonderfully here. I like a lack of cynicism every now and then. But aside from all that, the movie was quite entertaining and interesting. Stewart was born to play this role. It's not a movie I'm going to watch a million times, but I'm very glad I saw it.

a dude fighting the good fight

I'm really starting to like James Stewart. Great intense script with an excellent performance by Stewart. This movie gave us a great deal of fun, so much in fact that I had to forgive Capra the corny and clich%uFFFD moments at times.

This classic is showing its age, but Stewart and Arthur are both wonderful.