Well, that’s fair. I wasn’t trying to be pedantic so much as have a few categories so the thread wasn’t “your favourite Xmas film, however you define that”. The examples are of course my subjective choices.
However, while I agree that It’s A Wonderful Life owes its cultural legacy to being played at Xmas for free by every TV network ever for decades, I would say that it’s distinctly a Type 1 (though there’s definitely an argument for Type 2, sure). It’s not and was not marketed as a romantic comedy (“Wonderful Things Happen to Wonderful People” - it looks as if they really didn’t know what genre it was, apart from “heartwarming”) since it’s not a romance and it’s not a comedy. It’s a Christmas miracle film with probably these three themes:
- George overcomes his lifelong bitterness at being trapped in Bedford Falls and realises that his life has value and meaning by being shown what the world would be like without him;
- A quiet life lived in obscurity helping others is as valuable, if not more so, than a life spent accumulating wealth or having adventures;
- Money can’t bring you happiness - however much you have, if you haven’t loved and been loved by your fellow human beings, your life is worthless.
I agree it’s unfair that Potter gets away with stealing the money but the point is that it doesn’t do him any good (it’s chump change to him and the Savings & Loan doesn’t close), and George’s friends and clients are given the opportunity to show their loyalty and affection by helping him in their turn. It’s very much a post-Depression film, and one with (some justified) hope for what the future will bring.
