#29. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

For years all I heard from major music publications and people older than me was “Bon Jovi puts on the best show in rock and roll!” I didn’t get into Bon Jovi until about 1995, after the trend had died down. They were relatively dormant as far as extensive touring goes for most of that time. I finally got the chance to see them in 2003 and I was SO excited. I psyched myself up by watching “Bon Jovi Live in London” and listening to the “One Wild Night” cd. Then the day finally came. They played just about every song I could want to hear, I was at the show with two of my best friends and it. was. terrible.

Jon Bon Jovi’s voice was shot, the huge props were distracting and obstructed the view and the only thing more visible than the teleprompter was the screen that showed all of Jon’s choreographed spots (ala “Dance Dance Revolution.”) Needless to say my Bon Jovi concert-going experience was about as anti-climactic as your paid-for time with the escort expiring before you are finished. I got the same unfulfilled feeling from Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” What should be a “stand-up-and-cheer-‘Hell-Yeah-“moment” for getting to see a regular person like you or I stick it to those fat-cats in Washington ends up occurring under such ludicrous and unrealistic circumstances that I was deflated instead of elated.

Following the death of a prominent Senator, an inept Governor and his crooked advisor are scrambling to appoint a replacement. Ultimately they decide on Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart) who is a stereotypical “local hero” after having recently made the news for his role in putting out a park fire but is also politically naïve. The decision is made primarily because of the good P.R. that would accompany a man like Smith, but also because his lack of experience will make him the perfect fall-guy when it comes time to throw someone under the bus for political leverage.

Of course it is no accident that the protagonist’s name is a mash-up of Thomas Jefferson and James Smith. Evoking the names of founding fathers is an easy way to clearly establish a character as an unfettered good guy. However, it is also something of a cheap tactic in the sense that it allows Capra to bypass any significant depth or expansion of Smith’s character; and by giving him such a common last name it gives the impression that Jefferson Smith could be the “everyman” since we all know a Mr. Smith. While I understand the relevance of Smith being a Washington DC outsider on the impact of the story, my bigger complaint is with the unrealistic Ned Flanders-like goodness of Smith’s character. For God’s sake he is a Scoutmaster (or Head of the Boy Rangers in this case, I am assuming because they didn’t want to pay royalties to a big corporation like the Boy Scouts of America).

Upon Smith’s arrival in DC (because he takes the position without question) he is immediately branded as an outsider and essentially a dumb hick by pretty much every media outlet in town. At first this seems merciless and unnecessarily cruel, but as we will discover later, it is all part of the political machine of Washington DC, where the media is largely controlled by influential political figures.

A montage of Smith’s tour of Washington D.C. goes to great pains to interject as much Americana Iconography as possible, including an eagle, flags and George Washington. Since the camera constantly flashes back to Smith’s emotional reactions to all the sights it is kind of understood that this is the way Smith still sees America, however this whole sequence really feels more like damage control- as if Capra was worried a film that touches on political corruption would be at risk of being considered super-unpatriotic and all the syrupy imagery would somehow absolve it from such scrutiny.

For all the cookie-cutter good and cartoonishly evil characters in this film, the closest to a multi-dimensional one would be Senator Paine (Claude Raines) who is generally a bad guy but has his moments of moral conflict when it comes to using Smith as a patsy, primarily due to the fact that Smith’s father was once Paine’s best friend. He initiates the plans to get Smith recalled by setting him up to solicit donations from the Boy Rangers to buy up some land for a National Boys Camp that is in fact already being purchased as part of a greater land works bill, thus making it look like Smith was trying to pocket the donation money (because there is nothing more immoral than duping children). However he clearly feels uneasy about his part in the scheme and even refuses to carry out the plan until he is muscled into playing ball by his political puppet-master.

“You fight for the lost causes harder than for any others. Yes, you even die for them.” (Jefferson Smith, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”)

With all the excitement and backstabbing going on, it’s amazing (and by amazing I mean ridiculous) that there is still able to be a love interest subplot. Though Smith initially seems to have a thing for Paine’s daughter, he eventually develops a better rapport with his appointed aide Clarissa Saunders (Jean Arthur) who is a longtime Washington insider whose faith in people is restored by the genuine goodness of her new boss. This storyline is convenient for two reasons: 1) Smith can use Saunders’ expertise to his advantage to take down the man and 2) having her fall in love with Smith helps advance the early 20th Century cinematic agenda that any woman who appears to be independent on the outside is actually emotionally dependant and can’t even be in the workplace with a man without falling in love with him.

Armed with Saunders’ coaching, Smith launches a one-man filibuster effort on the floor of the Senate so that he can delay the passage of the Works Bill and his impending expulsion. What ensues is the longest, most drawn out climax committed to celluloid this side of “World’s Biggest Gang Bang Part 2.” Though the concept of a single senator holding up the parliamentary process for 23-plus-hours is completely absurd, another montage unfolds during this sequence which is constructed far better and less hokey than the sightseeing montage earlier in the film. This time it is an unnerving, reign of terror sort of vibe. Goons working for the corrupt politicians circulate negatively spun newspapers and radio broadcasts on Smith’s “cowardly” efforts to block the passage of the Works Bill and at one point they even purposely assault a small band of children loyal to Smith with a car.

Exhausted and nearly defeated, Smith collapses in the Senate Chambers. This scene is symbolic not only as a testament to Smith’s grit, but it also reveals the true character of many of the principal characters all at once; Saunders’ shriek of concern when he hits the floor, the final straw for Paine whose conscience finally gets the best of him and he confesses all his misdeeds in front of the entire assembly and of course Smith’s unwavering determination to redeem himself. Then, that’s it. Movie ends. Paine confesses, gallery cheers… then nothing. Sure, there isn’t much else you can do in terms of an epilogue, but that doesn’t mean to simply do nothing at all.

It is corny, unrealistic, propagandistic/borderline jingoistic and with largely one-dimensional characters but “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” does have its finer points. The subject matter is courageous and the notion of exposing the corruption of DC is a fairly universal concept we can all get behind. Unfortunately, in execution, this film ends up more like the horrific Disney-like scenario Matt Damon ranted about when he expressed concerns about Sarah Palin being in any kind of position of power. The folksy, simple bumpkin takes the lessons they learned doing silly, pedestrian things and applies them to a cause greater than themselves.

Maybe I’m just too jaded, but I ain’t buyin’ it.