The Capitol is visible through every window. Waiting. Watching.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is the most American movie ever made. Halfway through, I was overcome. I turned to the nearest flag (Go Mets!), saluted, and began to sing “God Bless America.” I don’t really know the words to the song, so it degenerated into embarrassed mumbling and they kicked me off the bus. Even if your movie involved a bald eagle making out with the Statue of Liberty, it would be less patriotic than this one.
It’s easy to be cynical about a movie where a nice man gets surprised elected to Congress and defeats corruption through nothing but pluck, but this movie gets away with it. It has such a strong sense of purpose and place that you really want justice to come against the ambiguously evil and corrupt political machine in Washington. Nothing in this movie could ever actually happen, no matter how many times Jimmy Stewart says, “Aw shucks.” You couldn’t get away with making this movie today, and not just because it would be awkward to watch Jimmy Stewart’s corpse for two hours.
It’s not until after post-coital with the American Dream that you realize the movie is actually poorly constructed. There’s a lot of plot threads that don’t really go anywhere, and the ending somehow lacks the punch it should. Really, the movie should have been longer. Wait, who’s typing this? It must be my evil doppelganger. I never want a movie to be three hours. No, don’t steal my identity, doppleganger! Oh, great, now there are goatee hairs in my keyboard.
Rating: Must-see
Did I fast-forward: No.
Posted by dagrabbit 
