18th and Fairfax

 Harvey was a very fun movie and I'm glad I got the chance to see it. This movie was a very interesting movie and the characters really are what this film is really about. It's also obvious that this movie has had a profound effect on film and television since its creation. This film used comedy in a different manner than most of the other movies that we've seen during the course of this semester. This movie didn’t have me laughing out loud, or even chuckling, I don’t think that the movie was trying to even convey this kind of humor. The humor was in the situation, it was a subtle humor that can be found in the everyday life of most people. The humor that was conveyed in this film was mostly about piquing people’s interest and most of the outward humor that I saw revolved around Harvey and people’s perception of Mr. Elwood and Harvey. This is a humor that revolves around unexpected situations and reactions. The other subtle humor used was in the interactions between the other characters. These two different types of comedy are in contrast with each other, but at the same time, complement each other.

The humor that revolved around people and how they interact reminded me of a Wes Anderson film, at least in my perception. I saw this because again, it is subtle as well as quick. The exchanges people have in this film are comical in the content in which they speak about, such as Veta’s various conversations with Judge Gaffney. When she’s talking to him in a hush-hush tone at the beginning of the film, it’s funny because she’s whispering so low that she’s not saying a single thing, and neither is the Judge, but yet they’re communicating somehow. It also is humorous because it’s an awkward moment for Veta. She is trying to act out her front stage behavior in front of her guests as well as try to keep Elwood from returning home. This humor serves the purpose of pushing people into awkward situations and making them look foolish. The other more situational humor surrounding Harvey isn’t really in how people are communicating, but how they react and how they’re not communicating (mostly the beginning of the film). People don’t know how to react to Elwood and Harvey, and their reactions to him are funny, of course because people don’t really expect to see a grown man taking to an invisible 6’ tall rabbit named Harvey.

Both these different types of humor are part of the same general theme that stitch together quite seamlessly, both types of humor come together to bring people out of their comfort zones and see how they react outside of their perceived notions of how the world works. This comes full circle and becomes what this movie really is about, pulling people out of their shells and helping them to see others and get to know others that they would otherwise neglect, case and point, Dr. Sanderson and Kelly.  Overall this film was very fun and held my attention very easily and I think that the concepts of the film were very easy to relate to. 

I want to know Harvey

Harvey was quite possibly the most meaningful film I have seen in this class, and very well one of the most I have seen in my life. It is centered on a man, Mr. Dowd (Elwood P.), and his less than imaginary friend, Harvey. Unfortunately, usually only Mr. Dowd can see and talk to Harvey, which makes him a little hard to take seriously. Even more unfortunate is the fact that Harvey takes the form of a 6 foot (or 6 foot three and a half inches, if we're sticking to the facts) human sized rabbit. Anyone in their right mind would tell you that Mr. Dowd is absolutely crazy, at least in the beginning of the film. It seems as though he is really the only crazy one of all the characters. At least, he is the only one that is different. Everyone, like Vita Simmons, Dr. Chumley, Dr. Sanderson, and the judge are always so caught up in worldly possessions.
Vita is always concerned with her money and her friends' opinions. She even goes as far as to commit her own brother into a mental institution, even after she plans on suing the same place.
Dr. Chumley is always worried about his reputation and the reputation of his establishment. We see this when Dr. Sanderson tells him about a "serious error." Chumley replies by saying that "this institution does not permit errors." He has obviously worked very hard to get the hospital where it is today and he may even be scared of any problems that arise. Instead of concerning himself with the error right away, he tries to turn his back on it and ignore it, claiming that it must be false.
Dr. Sanderson cares A LOT about his job. We see this when he frantically tries to talk Mr. Dowd out of a situation that Elwood doesn't even know exists. Sanderson is constantly kissing up to Chumley and going out of his way to track Mr. Dowd down.
Finally, we see how much the judge cares about Vita and the position of Elwood. Throughout the entire film, we see how the judge, or Gaffney tries to appeal to Vita. It is very clear how much Gaffney is attracted to her, so he does pretty much anything she asks without question. He goes where she wants to go, he sues who she wants to sue. I thought it was funny how Vita says she wants to sue Chumley and right away Gaffney agrees, without even knowing what wrongs Chumley had pursued.
As a result of these temporal desires, all of these characters seem to possess a certain quality of unhappiness. They are so caught up with the things of the world that they lose all focus on what really matters. And that seems to be what Elwood P. Dowd knows the most about. He is the only character in the film who seems to care about everyone more than he cares about himself. He is the friendliest, most out going man I have ever seen. He never seems to show any rude behavior. He is always extremely polite to everyone he meets, even strangers. And there in lies the whole meaning of Dowd's existence. That is, to make friends. In almost every scene we see Elwood in, he is making a new friend. And that is really what it's all about, isn't it? We're all just trying to make it through this life with the people who make us happy. So, in a way, Elwood P. Dowd was not crazy at all. In a way, he was the most sane character in the film.
For me, these two quotes sum up the whole meaning of the film:

Dr. Sanderson: Think carefully, Dowd. Didn't you know somebody, sometime, someplace by the name of Harvey? Didn't you ever know anybody by that name?
Elwood P. Dowd: No, no, not one, Doctor. Maybe that's why I always had such hopes for it.

Elwood P. Dowd: Years ago, my mother used to say to me, she'd say "In this world, Elwood, you can be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.

Oh and please do excuse my tardy participation in this assignment. I won't make an excuse. I'm just a tad irresponsible. But aren't we all?

Harvey Darvey

First off I apologize for this being so late, I haven’t been able to get to a computer.   But anyway…

Harvey! Harvey! Harvey!  I keep saying each week that the movie has had a unique approach or story… However, this week yet again was another movie that I had never heard of and ended up being very well done with excellent acting.  For some reason black and white movies scare me at first and take me a little longer to get into it, however, this one captivated me almost instantly.  The movie I feel was certainly character driven because the story was based not on completing a task but on how the characters are reacting to each other.  

            This movie plays on the way lack of proper communication can cause people to come up with assumptions that can cause a lot of chaos and turmoil between characters.  It also used the idea of rabid that only some could see to increase this confusion.  The film Harvey had many techniques that helped make the story work.  For instance the camera angles that move to follow the invisible character, or how things move because the invisible rabid is moving them about.  All of these techniques combined with the actors and actress’s incredible abilities to act out scenes with an imaginary character made this movie really stand out and become a true comedy.  There were also similarities between Harvey and the Purple Rose of Cairo movie playing on not communicating properly can cause havoc, in addition to peoples want to fit into society versus just playing enjoyment of life and not a care in the world.  The movie also played on the idea on the fear of the unknown or being misunderstood by science and put into situations that they cannot control such as being put into an asylum.  As old as the movie is, it did and excellent job at combining many themes and techniques to make a very unique movie that I would highly recommend others to see.  

David Duneman

Expository Writing

Joe Serio

4/28/13

Elwood Be Down

            I did not know what to expect from Harvey when I started watching it but it turned out to be a very entertaining movie. This movie revolves around Jimmy Stewarts’ performance of Elwood P. Dowd. I believe his statement to the mailman, “Every day is a beautiful day”, is a phrase that pretty much describes Mr. Dowd’s personality. There is nothing not to like about Elwood P. Dowd; he is social, he is as optimistic as one can be, he is charming with women, he is very nonchalant, and most importantly he is real. It seems that Dowd is not all there and not really fully paying attention, but yet he is almost always doing the right thing. And Stewarts pulls off all these traits perfectly. It seems to be that the audience is almost the only people that enjoy his presence. I think the whole moral of Harvey is that life will be just fine if you believe it will be just like Elwood Dowd believes. We first learn this when the mental institution takes in his sister Veta in as a crazy person instead of Dowd himself. This scene was probably one of my favorites because Elwood is trying to tell the doctors of his giant rabbit friend the entire time but they keep interrupting him with questions and concerns. This is like a metaphor of many business systems of America, the patients are basically just a one-time thing for them so the business just wants them in and out as soon as possible, and it seems they won’t even let the patient get a word in just like with Dowd.

            I found some similarities between Harvey and The Purple Rose of Cairo. They both focused on the imagination quite a bit. Elwood imagined his rabbit friend Harvey, and Cecilia imagined Tom Baxter. Although in both these films the imaginary characters are real. I think that this is not really saying the imaginary characters are real, but rather saying that the imagination is more real than most people seem to believe.

            This movie seemed to have one section solely focused on sex. When Veta gets released from the mental institution she comes out saying that all they think about is sex and they tried to have their way with her. She didn’t even stop to think that she was thought to be a patient, but came to the conclusion that they were trying to have sex with her. And after this scene I don’t think they mentioned sex at all, or before for that matter.

            This was a wonderful movie, mostly because of the character Elwood P. Dowd, and I do believe ill watch this again in the future.

Uncertainty about Harvey

I am not really sure what this film was about. At first, it seemed like a light-hearted comedy about a wacky uncle that has an imaginary friend. However, the entire film turned wacky by the end. At times, I feel like Elwood used his “friend” Harvey in order help others deal with their life or their feelings. Elwood gives Dr. Chumley an excuse to talk about his life and his feelings, what he would have done differently if he could. Elwood states it himself: “They tell us about the big terrible things they’ve done and the big wonderful things they’ll do. Their hopes, and their regrets, and their loves, and their hates. All very large, because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar. And then I introduce them to Harvey… and he’s bigger and grander than anything they offer me”. Perhaps Harvey is a way for Elwood to relate to and interact with other people. Harvey is a psychological tool. He makes people confront their problems by creating something bigger than they can handle, a person/creature who does not exist.

Harvey is described as being a pooka. In Irish mythology, a pooka is a mischievous creature that can shape shift, but chooses to be seen as a large black horse most of the time. A large black horse is extremely ominous, but a large white bunny is not as threatening. By describing Harvey as a large bunny, Elwood creates an almost comical image that speaks to the innocence of childhood. I doubt that Elwood is trying to hurt others by creating this persona of Harvey. I am not completely sure what Harvey meant to Elwood. He could have been a way that Elwood dealt with his emotions, and then a way in which Elwood could reach out and interact with other people. Elwood does not seem to have any friends, apart from Harvey. He is pleasant to everyone he meets, even inviting complete strangers to his house. He may have a sort of disinhibited reactive attachment disorder, in which he seeks attention from everyone, including strangers, but he does not form strong relationships with his family members.

The main character that I just cannot stand is Myrtle Mae. She cares too much about herself than the happiness of her uncle or her mother. When her mother gets home and describes what happened to her in the hospital, Myrtle is comforting. After all, it sounds to the audience like Mrs. Simmons was practically raped, if not sexually molested. We as the viewers know that’s not what happened, but to Myrtle, it could have been rape.  And when the man who assaulted her mother comes calling, Myrtle is not afraid or even wary. She practically throws herself at him in order to get his attention. Myrtle could care less about what is right for her family, and cares instead about her personal love life. She barely knows Mr. Wilson, but she’s ready to go away with him and marry him. She needs to be loyal to her family and her uncle, who have been supporting her throughout her entire life.

What Do You Have In Mind?

This film could have been retitled The Importance of Being Pleasant. It brings a broad statement about human nature and how many perceive the actions of others in a distrustful light. There is a difference between seeing the actions of someone as dangerous or untrustworthy or accepting someone at face value. The end message being that it is important to have faith in others, in them as human beings, their jobs, and social interactions.

A general statement about trying to keep up appearances around the quiet squeaking steps of the cook (a stand-in for the rest of the world, just outside of the door), Elwood's aunt and cousin are two sides of a coin, one trying to keep her household in some order and interested in finding happiness with high-society, the other seething with desire, enough to bring disorder, to break out into society and find a partner.

While Elwood is presented in a generally positive light, there is an apparent acceptance of how Elwood can make people feel uncomfortable when attempting to place flower on his jacket, he gives it to Nurse Kelly instead, saying, "I seem to have misplaced my buttonhole." Being buttonholed can mean to keep someone in conversation by talking or physically holding their clothing and talking and rather invasive act. 

At the end, Harvey may have spent weeks with Dr. Chumley, but decided he didn't want to be part of his static and perhaps boring fantasy. Formula 977 is Dr. Chumley's own formula, something that turns people "...into human beings..." or someone who has "...got no faith..." in other people as the cabbie says near the end of the film.

Early in the film, Dr. Chumley mentions "his" formula 977 as a cure. Something that turns people "...into human beings..." or someone who has "...got no faith..." in other people as the taxi driver says near the end of the film; it is likely that Chumley wouldn't be a good match for Harvey and hopefully, changed Chumley enough to keep him from prescribing it in the future. 

I initially thought the aunt's caving in at the last second was a bit of deus ex machina, but after re-watching, I think her action was foreshadowed early in the film when she said, "I always thought that you were, showed in your face."  Foreshadowing her reversal when she believes that Elwood is about to be changed from a person with a face that everyone finds friendly.

Elwood's regular response, "What did you have in mind?" seemed to illustrate his openness to something interesting coming from other people and that he was waiting to see what it was.

Harvey

         Who is really the happiest?  Social acceptance over enjoyment? Reassurance, peace, and excitement fill the character Elwood after he creates an imaginary friend.  This imaginary friend turns out to be a six-foot-three and half-inch rabbit named Harvey. Society has difficulty understanding and accepting Elwood’s friend, because it isn’t socially acceptable and it may not be good for their “image.” Through creating the character Harvey, the audience understands it does not matter what we have to do to be fully happy in this life. This became evident when Elwood, said, "Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it."  This shows Elwood has truly found inner peace, and he enjoys all areas of his life.  Proving that through a good attitude and a light heart one can enjoy their life to the fullest.

         I really enjoyed James Stewart’s character.  He had me looking for that invisible rabbit the entire film. He was very successful in his roll, convincing the audience how happy and inviting he was. Good film.