God bless James Stewart. I don't think there was ever another actor who ever lived who could have pulled off the lead role in Harvey. This classic film follows Elwood P. Dowd, a middle aged bachelor who lives with his companion, Harvey. The thing is that Harvey is a 6' 3.5" tall rabbit that only Dowd can see or hear. Oh...he's not really a rabbit. He's technically a pooka, or a shapeshifter from Celtic mythology. But that's beside the point. To the rest of the world, it seems like Dowd has an imaginary friend who accompanies him everywhere. This wreaks havoc on his family, particularly his sister and niece who desperately crave a place in "normal" society. Whenever they try to go out in public or hold a party, Dowd scares everyone off by trying to introduce them to Harvey. They finally decide to have him committed. But in the attempt, the sanitarium doctors mistake his sister as the crazy person and lock her up. What follows is a series of (un)fortunate mishaps where people try and contain Dowd only for their plans to backfire in their faces. Strangely enough, Dowd isn't in the film for as long as you might think. The film focuses more on the supporting cast, particularly Dowd's family and the doctors at the sanitarium. More often than not, things get mixed up by people who interrupt Dowd, preventing him from properly introducing his large friend. I don't think I have ever seen another movie with so many interrupted lines. Still, it is a charming film. If there is a moral to be found in this film (as there are with any proper fable or fantasy story), it would be that just because somebody is kind and eccentric doesn't mean that they're crazy...especially if he's James Stewart.
7/10
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