Collateral Beauty

So I read somewhere that Collateral Beauty does not have what it takes to be a Christmas Classic. I’m not sure about that, you be surprise how many Christmas Classic don’t have what it takes to be Christmas Classics.

Best example is It’s A Wonder Life, you know the Jimmy Stewart joint that came out back in the black and white era….and bomb!

That’s right, no love for Stewart.

So how did a movie that failed at the box office become a Christmas Classic.

Thank the peacock.

See a long time ago, NBC was looking to do something festive for the Holidays, and it just so happen that they owned the rights to It’s A Wonderful Life, so they played it. Every Christmas. Probability not even a big deal to them at first and had no idea that it would become a Holiday tradition, until it became a Holiday tradition.

Such an impact the movie about a man feeling down on Christmas that he wonders what life would be like if he was not in the picture, so a Joe Schmo looking angel looking for a promotion in the shape of some wings, convinces the dude otherwise by showing him what life would be like for the others around him if he was not in the picture, that I know what the story is about without seeing the movie is saying something as well.

Sure, I’ve seen bits in pieces of it as a child flipping through the channels and by the time I was an adult I was able to puzzle the movie all together in my head.

I have another theory. When I was a child, It’s A Wonderful Life was already a Christmas Classic and it’s the kind of story that’s basic and easy to parody. Thus I’ve seen many different version over the years that told the complete story. Like an episode of Married.. With Children, in which Al “Crazy Legs” Bundy decided his life was not worth living and when a drunken low life of an angel (played by late great comedian Sam Kinison) shows him (in the twist of the tale) that he was actually right, he decides he wants to live to make sure his family is as miserable as he is.

So long moral is that you never know how time will judge something, and this could be the case with Collateral Beauty.

I just laid down a bunch of back history that had really nothing to do with this Will Smith vehicle only to tell you that the movie was ok.

Smith plays a man who is shocked to the core with the lost of his daughter and can’t do anything else, but in an attempt to wrap his head around it he starts writing letters to Time, Love, and Death and things get crazy when they respond to these letters.

I think we were all expecting something more form big Willie and he did not deliver. They can’t all be magical ones, but we were expecting pure magic.

I got to admit though, this movie should have been magic not just because of the Fresh Prince. He lead a very stellar cast of fine as wine actors.

Ed Norton was in the movie, as the somewhat weaselly best friend to Will’s character trying his best to get his friend back in the game before they loose the company they started while going through the hard ship of divorce when his daughter wants nothing to do with him.

The very lovely Kate Winslet is also in it as a woman who devoted her life to her career and is act the age where it’s almost too late to have a baby.

Micheal Pena is in it. I’m not sure if calling him up and coming is right as he’s been going strong for a few years now, but he gets to be in a film with some great actors playing the role of newly made partner who will not get to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

And then the great Helen Mirren is in it playing Death literally (Double meaning to that but I will not give it away)

Naomie Harris  Keira Knightley to complete this descent sized all star cast. 

So it’s not a bad movie at all, possibly not as good as the cast that’s in it, you’d expect more but you never known sometime down the line this could be a new Christmas Classic. Let’s see how many people stream it on Netflix.