Review of Christmas in Connecticut (1945) by Trevor M — 19 Dec 2013

Christmas in Connecticut is a wonderful Christmas movie with a more classical sense of comedy that genuinely makes one feel like everything will work out in the end. The 1940's view on women is a bit heavy in parts, turning the lead into a gooey mess at the touch of a man, but even that cannot take away the charm this movie has.

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The Good: There is just something about the 1930's and 40's movies that can only be described as uniquely wonderful and charming. They are basically the equivalent of modern Pixar movies in how they are enjoyable for every age group and never loose their value. Christmas in Connecticut falls right into this wonderful time in movie making history and is one of the most beautiful Christmas movies ever created. It falls right in step with Holiday Inn and yes, even White Christmas (which admittedly made its way into the 50's, breaking my 30's and 40's stereotype). Movies like this are Disney movies for adults in how they have this sweet innocence and genuine belief that everything will work out for the best that is positively contagious. It has been nearly 70 years since this movie was made and everyone involved in making it has been long gone for awhile, and yet its beautifully crafted whimsical story remains a dear classic that should be re-watched every Christmas. The movie is fast paced for the most part and the comedy style is something rarely seen nowadays, but is one of the greatest styles ever created. The word play is good and having so many people in one house while trying to hide various secrets from them is a delight. People going in and out of doors and just missing one another as they sneak around or try and hide certain things is simply marvelous and the pacing is spectacular. Even in the midst of all of the craziness, the story gets fully fleshed out and feels totally complete by the end.

The Bad: The supposedly strong, yet starry-eyed woman role of Elisabeth does get tedious at times, especially in how gooey she gets around Jefferson Jones. This aspect is a hard reminder of the reality that this movie was made nearly 70 years ago and during a time when women were thought of as frail creatures who swooned at even seeing a man. It is borderline sexist at times, although it is a bit forgivable due to the release date. Some of the acting is cheesy and subpar, which is unfortunate due to the high quality of the rest. When the actors are all moving quickly, everything works perfectly, it is just when they stop moving and try to have serious moments that things get a bit tedious.