Who is really crazy in this life? Is it a man
who has found inner peace and has an imaginary 6'3" friend rabbit? Or, is
it the people who care so abundantly on social status, and what others think of
them? By the end of the film I think all of us can answer that without a
doubt. One of my favorite quotes of the movie was stated by Elwood, he
said, "Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm
happy to state I finally won out over it." Out of everyone in this
movie I think Elwood is the sanest out of all of them. He has found inner
peace with himself, and he is content with all aspects of his life.
Elwood should be looked at as a clear indication that attitude is naturally the
key to happiness.
Elwood invites everyone and anyone to have a drink
with him or to his house for dinner. It didn't matter what status they
were in society. He asked the asylums gate operator to go have a drink
with him downtown. He also asked Dr. Chumley's wife to have dinner with
him and his friends. Elwood did not care that these two people were on
opposite ends of the spectrum. His niece and sister on the other hand,
they cared heavily on social status and impressing other people. Distressed
Veta, Elwood's own sister, tried to keep him out of the house while she was
having guests over. He showed up and started introducing every one of the
guests to Harvey. Veta knew what was going to happen next. This has
happened more than once; where Elwood introduces Harvey to her guests and they
all leave. Veta decided that was the last straw and was going to put her
brother into Chumley's Rest—a mental hospital. In many reviews I read,
the authors said considering that this was a comedy there was not nearly enough
laugh out loud moments. Well, I beg to differ. I was laughing out
loud at many different parts of the movie, especially the circumstances
that played out when Veta took Elwood to the Chumley's Rest. Another part
was when Elwood and Dr. Chumley were talking alone in his office and Elwood was
telling the doc about Harvey. He lied down on the type of bed you see in
a psychiatrist’s office. This was portraying that the doc was the crazy
one and Elwood was the doctor. These little moments throughout the movie
had me laughing out loud.
One of my favorite themes in the movie was
friendship. Elwood would introduce everyone
he met to Harvey. He also would open the
door for him and insist he go in first.
The things he did with Harvey he would do the same for other
people. He carried himself out with a
very respectful and proper demeanor.
Another one of my favorite quotes was said by Elwood, he stated, “I
always have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whomever I'm with.” You could tell he had a grand time with
anyone. In my opinion, the world would
be a much better place if we had more people like Elwood in it.
Then ending in this movie was great. I was sad when Dr. Chumley asked if Harvey
could stay with him. Elwood didn’t mind
at all because he respected people’s wishes.
Then as Elwood is walking through the gate he turns around and sees
Harvey. He then says, “Thanks, I prefer
you too Harvey.” They then proceed to
walk off into the distance together. The End. Joe
was right; you should be admitted into a mental hospital if you don’t like this
movie. I really enjoyed Harvey and would
recommend it to anyone.
This is an awesome post! I think you are absolutely right when you say that Elwood was the sanest. The other character's obsession with society causes them to act ridiculously and deny certain aspects of reality because they are not "normal" or "fashionable." I agree that more people need to be like Elwood, the world would be a much happier place.
ReplyDeleteI think friendship was one of the main themes of the movie. Elwood never got mad at anyone on Harvey behave. Harvey and Elwood were true best friends.
ReplyDelete