Harvey: Oh so pleasant

After watching the Euro 2008 match I was sitting in my new home and decided to check what else was on. Much to my joy and surprise was the fact that Harvey would be on at 8pm. All my other plans were rescheduled and at 8pm I watched this classic film.

Now some of my younger readers might think I’m speaking about this Harvey


[If you never saw Farscape and you have never seen Harvey then the video will lose you I’m sure. Farscape fans will laugh though.]

But in fact I am speaking of the 1950 film starring Jimmy Stewart and a 6 foot 3 1/2” tall invisible rabbit. Well not completely invisible nor a rabbit. He is actually a Pooka that generally can only be seen by rumpots and crackpots. Thus the audience never actually sees him, though some characters (notably Stewart) do.

In essence the film is about an eccentric well-off drunk, whose main companion is Harvey. The existence of this rabbit is the bane of the sister of Elwood Dowd (Stewart) and she seeks to institutionalize her brother to help him get back to reality. In the end she, and the audience, realize that perhaps having an invisible rabbit is the least horrible thing in life if you are a good person otherwise.

Harvey is a story about being a good person. While he (Dowd) is odd and a drinker he is also very good-hearted. He constantly helps the people around him, pairing up 2 couples and providing therapy for a psychiatrist all while they are trying to incarcerate him. He has only kind words for everyone he meets, even if they ridicule him. And he is non-judgmental of even convicts and those that seem to dislike him.

Perhaps the whole movie can be summed up in one quote. When asked why Elwood is not angry or flustered when he is told he is to be committed he replies

“Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.”

I have, and you should too. If you haven’t seen this film yet, or even if you have, watch it and feel just a bit better about things.