You Can't Take it With You (1938) - 4 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: Romeo and Juliet, but with out all of the drinking of the poison and the stabbing.

Starring: Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Ann Miller, Spring Byington

Best of: This is Jimmy Stewart's breakout role. Damn, he is engaging. Especially compared to the other actors I've been watching, he is just head and shoulders above the rest. He is one of several solid acting performances in the film. This is also the first best picture winner to have black characters that aren't entirely stereotypical which was refreshing (don't worry though...they're still pretty stereotypical).

Worst of: Given how common a story it is (rich boy meets poor girl, etc), the movie took longer than it needed to with the set up and felt a bit too strong a need to hit you over the head with its message.

I would have liked it better if: it were about 20 minutes shorter.