I stumbled upon Harvey in an interesting way. A lot of the really old movies I review because I’ve discovered them by seeing them on “best of” lists or “essential movies” lists. However, I’ve never really seen Harvey pop up on these sorts of lists, and so it doesn’t seem to be one that’s recognized as an all-time classic. Despite this, I’ve wanted to see it for a while, because I heard it talked about by one of my favorite authors, John Green. He described how at one point in his life, he had a nervous breakdown, and when he had to quit his job because of it, his then-boss told him to watch Harvey. Apparently, it really helped him turn things around, and so I’ve always been curious about the power of this movie since then. I’m really glad I gave it a watch, because it’s a really remarkable movie.

The movie is about a character named Elwood Dowds, who lives with his sister and niece. His family wants to commit him to a mental institution, because Elwood claims that his best friend is an invisible 6 foot tall rabbit named Harvey. However, things don’t quite go as planned at the mental institution, and it turns out that Elwood and Harvey might be able to teach everyone else a life lesson or two. It’s a really fascinating concept on its own, and so if a man having an imaginary rabbit as his best friend doesn’t intrigue you, then this might not capture your interest in the way it did for me.

I think the thing that ultimately makes Harvey such a likeable movie is how likeable its main star is: James Stewart. He’s most famous for playing the main character in It’s a Wonderful Life, but Harvey features a performance from him that’s arguably even better. Seeing the way that Elwood interacts with Harvey is just charming. While you tend to feel bad for his family because of them being ostracized due to Elwood’s mental disorder, it’s also impossible to be mad at Elwood. The guy is so pleasant. He’s constantly striking up conversations with random people, listening to their stories, offering advice, and inviting them to have dinner or a drink with him. Even when he sees something like how his sister is trying to institutionalize him, he never lashes out or anything, instead just maintaining his pleasant demeanor. He’s one of the most likeable characters I think I’ve ever seen on film, and it really gives the whole movie the charm that it has.

Even better than this, though, is how profound it all is. Elwood clearly captivates those that he comes into contact with, and this is because of his unique insight. He’ll randomly go on a monologue about something, and his wisdom is always so unexpected. It’s easy to see why someone might watch this and feel as though they’ve had an epiphany afterwards. Even though it’s unfortunate that Elwood is mentally ill, you’d also never want to change him, because if someone can be that pleasant, why would you want to?

I thought Harvey was a really striking movie. Much like Stewart’s famous movie It’s a Wonderful Life, it holds up in such a remarkable way that I’d challenge anyone to feel like it’s inferior to modern movies just because it’s black-and-white and old. I’m so glad I heard about Harvey and decided to take a chance on it myself, because I now hold it very dear to my heart. It succeeds both in how unique it is and how great it is to follow Elwood’s story. Definitely check this one out if you ever get the opportunity.

4.5/5