Isn't Life Wonderful!

A Technicolor wallow in nostalgia made in austerity Britain obviously based on 'Life With Father'. The aggressive jollity of this paean to patriarchy is best exemplified by Donald Wolfit's presence as a bibulous uncle in plus fours.

Charming and delightful are words that spring to mind when thinking of Isn't Life Wonderful, a film I just watched for the second time and enjoyed just as much as on the first viewing.

It's good medicine for these melancholic times in which we find ourselves. Beautiful technicolour is an added bonus to the whimsical script and enthusiastic performances of all involved. I for one enjoy the breaking of the fourth wall when a cast member speaks directly to the audience, and I don't really understand all the whining about Peter Asher's character doing just that. He may not be a mini Brad Pitt (people seemed put off by the lad's appearance -- good grief!) but he did a fine job in the role.

Cecil Parker is his usual pompous self, but soft around the edges and given many delightful bon mots that were possibly missed by other reviewers who seem to dislike the film. I found his witticisms amusing and clever.

Who wouldn't want an uncle like Donald Wolfit's Uncle Willie? He's a hoot and a delight whenever he's on screen.

Isn't Life Wonderful kept me smiling throughout, and that alone makes it worthy of 8 stars.

I am a little surprised by the reviewers of this little gem. It is bright and breezy with a top cast and good set comedy moments. Cecil Parker is at his best as a pompous middle class father facing his bucolic brother-in-law (a magnificent Donald Wolfit) and new technology: the telephone and bicycle. His myriad relations , including a vapid nephew about to marry an American heiress are good dressing for the main plot, but carry out their parts with some vim. However, the pieces between Willie, Father , observed and commentated on by his son (Peter Asher) make this film Wildean Theatre. And which young boy would not like an Uncle like Willie, who sings jaunty songs, tells great stories and takes his side against the 'grown-ups'.! Amid all this wit and jollity look out for the single sad scene on the beach when the boy wished he had some one to play with, a moment which resets the emotions.

I've put this on my keep list if only for the bicycle unpacking scene.

For anyone who is wondering, this movie is an attractively photographed film in still-crisp colour ("by Technicolor") that can be summed up as England's answer to "Life with Father".

That is to say, stuffy-character actor Cecil Parker plays the lovably opinionated, semi-tyrannical head of a household. He has only one child, a son, but has also to deal with his extended family's black sheep Uncle Willie, played by Donald Wolfit (who steals the picture, such as it is).

The film (set in 1902) benefits from lavish production detail, period costumes and sets, but suffers from the "fourth wall" breaking narration of 10 year old Peter Asher (fashion model and actress Jane Asher's brother). He isn't especially engaging as a performer, sad to say.

Episodic and not very funny, but also short enough to be possibly worth a look on a rainy weekend at home.

Looking at the filmography of Donald Wolfitt I cannot see that he appeared in another comedy.Perhaps having viewed this film he decided that he better stick to drama.Any film starring him and Cecil Parker must have its bright moments.However they are lumbered with a rather unfunny script and a truly awful child actor in Peter Asher.I can think of very few films where actors talking direct to the audience works.To entrust such a daunting task to such a young and inexperienced actor is courting disaster.So it is little surprise when it falls flat on its face.The best aspect of this film is the Technicolor photography,though some of the process shots are rather dire.