That was an excellent one.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The acting in this movie is really good.

For a film 88 years old and 14 presidents later, this film represents what is best about the United States and also a reminder what is wrong with it. I do find it difficult to pick out the best film out of the dozens of classics released in 1939, but of those 50 or 60, "Mr. Smith" remains the most prestigious with a message that resonates today. Like the dozens of classics in 1939, this has dozens of moments that are considered among the great scenes in film history. As good as best actor winner Robert Donat was as "Mr. Chips", James Stewart is simply far better, going from naive country bumpkin handed a senate seat, his slow education to the corruption, his determination to accomplish something, the crooked obstacles he faces, and the explosion that opens his eyes to the evils standing in his way. Stewart displays many different sides to his character, but one thing is clear: he isn't going to fall down and go boom without fighting. This features an ensemble that rivals 1939's best picture winner, "Gone With the Wind", starting with Jean Arthur as his initially cynical assistant, Claude Rains as his long time mentor, Edward Arnold as the power hungry money man (identical to his powerful Nazi like autocrat in "Meet John Doe", Guy Kibbee as the governor of Stewart's home state, and Beulah Bondi (in a role she would play many times) as Stewart's mother. Ruth Donnelly as Kibbee's no nonsense wife, Charles Lane as a nosy reporter and Thomas Mitchell as Arthur's confidante are also quite good. The surprise for me is Harry Carey as the speaker of the house who says more with a bang of his gavel and all knowing grin than the rest of the cast does with Robert Riskin's brilliant words. Director Frank Capra has been nicknamed the inventor of "Capra Corn", a description of the stories of Cinderella men who rose above their naivete to fight injustice. Rains is described as a villain in this, but he's a villain with a soul, one who forgot why he got into public service in the first place, allowing himself to be manipulated and controlled at the expense of his soul. Stewart's desire to have a boy's camp funded blocks pending bills of Rains and several others, and this results in some violently shocking actions, culminating in the famous filibuster sequence.I believe in fighting for lost causes, so this film means a lot for me. This film means more to me now than it did upon my first viewing of it some 30 years ago. Memories of a family trip to Washington D.C. when I was a boy and a return for a march for a supposed lost cause make the big eyed grins of the young pages and visiting boy scouts all the more emotional. Seeing this film in a chaotic time makes it all the more memorable, and even with simple, supposedly dated, American values, shows that modern values are as corrupt as the most sinister of political bigwigs that control the government behind the scenes.

The governor of an unnamed western state, Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee), has to pick a replacement for recently deceased U.S. Senator Sam Foley. His corrupt political boss, Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), pressures Hopper to choose his handpicked stooge, while popular committees want a reformer, Henry Hill. The governor's children want him to select Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), the head of the Boy Rangers. Unable to make up his mind between Taylor's stooge and the reformer, Hopper decides to flip a coin. When it lands on edge – and next to a newspaper story on one of Smith's accomplishments – he chooses Smith, calculating that his wholesome image will please the people while his naïveté will make him easy to manipulate.

This movie sends a very strong message to the American people, as not all politicians are corrupted or on the take. It shows the true way how a democracy system should work here in the US. The political statements shown in this movie were attack when the film was released, as people thought of it as anti-American and pro-Communist for its portrayal of corruption in the American government. In my opinion this film shows the faults and positives of our political system. A film like this really can give the viewer of what the true democracy system feels like and shows it only takes the courage of one man to stand up against corruption. Mr. Smith is that man who is not a career politician, just a common man that bleeds red, white and blue. He has an idea that would benefit sociality as it will help kids stay out of trouble and become men. When he finds out about the graft scheme he stands tall and challenges the big political machine Taylor, with out fear like the other members of the hall. This shows the courage of a man standing by his self against the same members of his party. Mr. Smith stands his ground and keeps to his word to ensure that a "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth"

I gave it 10 stars--but let's just say I'm good for another 50 years before I see this again. I thought it was sentimental shlock and that Stewart's performance was questionable, and that is the best I can say. When we look at an actor's oeuvre over time, the audience can compare performances, and for me, he was weakest here.I don't like these kinds of movies because they are a deliberate attempt to tug on the heart strings of the audience; the audience is being overtly manipulated. And not a bit of it rang true. That Washington is a cesspool is self-evident from reading the daily news; that someone idealistic could expose Washington on such a flimsy basis as a questionable land deal...About the best moment was when Stewart's Secretary explains how a bill is passed; now that sounded true to life. Guy Kibbee's performance of a corrupt and weak governor was spot on.So given Stewart's weak performance, given the sentimental shlock, given overt audience manipulation--like I say, I'm good for another fifty years before I watch this again.