A Christmas Movie

  No, not that one.  i seem to be the only person who doesn't find the movie with the leg lamp charmingly nostalgic.
  This one, while also referencing Indiana, is much different.
  My father in law recommended Remember the Night as a heartwarming screwball comedy.  i didn't think a 1940 movie would be so suggestive.

Innocent Leads

  Not that it's  not heartwarming, too.  The leads, John and Lee, are refreshingly innocent, despite Lee's hardboiled-ness.  

  John is a successful NYC DA, bent on getting a conviction on this guilty shoplifter.  But inside he's an innocent softie who can't bear the thought of someone who hasn't yet been convicted spending Christmas behind bars.  

  So he springs her.

  He doesn't even notice the wink-wink, nudge-nudge his colleagues are doing.  THEY can't imagine any wholesome reason for his wanting her out.

  Neither can she.  When he finally makes her realize that he does not have any ulterior motive, she's both angry and charmed.  

  She's been pulled from "a nice warm jail, with a turkey dinner on Christmas," and now faces the prospect of of December nights on the New York streets.

A Christmas Dilemma

  He decides the best thing to do is take her home with him.  His intention is strictly honorable, so it can't be illegal, right?

  In their cross-country adventures, they become trapped in rural justice based on the speed trap principle, and he learns more about their different approach to life.

  In Indiana, he brings her to her mother's home, and they both learn that time has not erased her lack of welcome there.

  At his home, she is welcomed as, of course, his girlfriend.  John's mother recognizes this girl with a record as long as your arm as "as honest as the day is long."  

 

Warning:  Possible spoilers.  It's nothing that isn't already in promo materials, but if you're very particular about not knowing, you may want to skip the rest.

Different Present; Past More Similar Than You Could Guess

  Here is the point of the film that impressed me the most.  Both of them had grown up in fatherless Indiana homes.  Both had, at one point in their youth, stolen something. 

  Mom's reaction made all the difference.  

  Lee's mom called her a thief, and broadcast the news to the town, making Lee unemployable.  Mom always had disapproved of Dad and Lee.

  John's mom lovingly showed him the problem, and helped him work to make restitution.  John had by the time of the story forgotten all about the incident.  He had gone on to work his way through law school.

Not Happily Ever After, but Hopeful. . . .

The ending was more real than satisfying.  i don't mind spoiling this, since the trailer actually did so: John is in love,  and is going to throw the case.  His mother, meanwhile, has convinced Lee that their marriage would destroy his career, which must not happen, so Lee pleads guilty.

  He agrees to visit her.  She agrees to marry him after her sentence if he still wants to.