The Philadelphia Story

For today’s guest post, I’m excited to introduce my friend, Joey Campanello! He’s a musician, filmmaker and fellow fanboy here in Austin, Texas. For his submission, he decided to write about The Philadelphia Story!

Sometimes movies you loved as a kid just don't hold up as an adult. All of the things you enjoyed give way to the fact that you’re now a more discerning watcher and, ugh, was the acting always that bad? Wow, did they actually put that in the script?

On the other hand, it’s an exceedingly joyful time when a movie you loved as a kid ends up being better than you realized once you watch it again as an adult. The sly wit of the script, the effortless bouncing of lines between actors, the satisfying character development; things that may have gone over your head when you were a kid, or at least didn’t realize completely why you enjoyed them.

I’ve been watching the Philadelphia Story most of my life, but it wasn’t until I picked it up again in my mid-20s that I really understood what a beautiful piece of 1940s comedy it is. In a time when most comedies are R-rated affairs that rely on cheap sight-gags and shock value, watching something that’s funny because it was expertly written is a nice change of pace. And, perhaps more importantly, inspires me to try to make better art, too.