Maybe It's Not Such a Wonderful Life, After All. Praising Potter and Bashing Bailey in the Wake of the Financial Meltdown

Everyone--or almost everyone--seems to love Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life," though it's beloved in part simply because we think it is supposed to be. We forget (or don't know) that, at the time of the film's release, many critics--e.g. in England--panned it as mawkish and treacly--which it is (though I appreciate it as a holiday staple, a little bit of "heartwarming" goes a very long way). Part of the reason that we like it, of course, is that we get to applaud plucky self-sacrificing George Bailey standing up for the little guys against the plutocrat Potter.

Now, however, Liz Gunnison, writing in Condé Nast Portfolio, takes a new look at the film in the light of the current financial crisis and asks whether we've been backing the wrong horse:

"George Bailey, Subprime Lender"

Miserly old Mr. Potter was right: It’s a Wonderful Life hero George Bailey never should’ve given those loans to the likes of Ernie and Bert (full article)