Joey Magidson
Jimmy Stewart led a life worthy of a big screen depiction, there’s no doubt about that. We live in a time where it’s inconceivable for an Academy Award winning actor to enlist and serve in the military at the height of their stardom. Throw in the fact that Stewart would come home and eventually star in one of the films that would define him with It’s a Wonderful Life and it’s a tale more than worthy of Hollywood. The problem with Jimmy, a biopic about the legendary actor, is that it’s a scattershot effort, despite an often easygoing nature.
Jimmy is reverential about its title character, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s the uneven and surface level nature of the film that’s the issue. This is a movie where things just happen, without a real sense of why. It’s as if the powers that be here needed to cram as much of this time period in Stewart’s life into the flick, without ever really figuring out why it needed to be there. The result is a product that goes down easy but evaporates from your memory almost immediately.
When we meet Jimmy Stewart (KJ Apa), he’s just won the Academy Award for Best Actor. His Oscar for The Philadelphia Story quickly takes a back seat to war, as World War II has gotten underway. Seeing others serving honorably, he’s actually excited when he receives a draft notice. When studio mogul Louis B. Mayer (Jason Alexander) insists on making this go away, Stewart is dejected. Unwilling to stay safe and enjoy his celebrity, he enlists anyway. Before long, he’s become a combat pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He would fly twenty missions over Europe, ultimately rising to the rank of colonel by the end of the war.
Returning home broken and disheartened by war, Stewart has also seen his star wane. He’s mortified by Mayer wanting to leverage his military service into a war film, though a conversation with old friend Frank Capra (Max Casella) presents a different opportunity for him. Capra wants Stewart to star in his movie It’s a Wonderful Life. The rest, obviously, is cinematic history, though the story of how this project would save him is previously untold…
KJ Apa is fine in the title role, though it does feel more like mimicry than an actual performance. Apa makes Stewart charming, though a bit one note. He has the most to do, so it’s the turn you respond most to, but it’s hardly anything especially accomplished. Jason Alexander and Max Casella do their jobs, just without much to take notice of. As for the supporting players, they include Gemma Donovon, Sarah Drew, Kara Killmer, Christopher McDonald, Neal McDonough, Rob Riggle, and more. They’re all fine, though hardly remarkable.
Director Aaron Burns and screenwriter Justin Strawhand basically fawn over Jimmy Stewart, which is fine for something like this, but their execution isn’t. They rush through everything, never allowing any of the emotional moments to really land. The Hollywood set scenes, especially with Mayer and Stewart, are gently enjoyable, but the WWII section is cheap looking, with some notable AI on screen as well. Burns and Strawhand love their protagonist, without question. They just aren’t able to translate that to the audience. With a bloated two hour running time, they should have been.
Jimmy has moments that charm, as well as an interesting story to tell. It just can’t tell it in a consistently effective manner. Individual parts here work, though the final product is, at best, a mixed bag. Jimmy Stewart and his extraordinary story deserved better.
SCORE: ★★1/2
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