"Jimmy," a new James Stewart biopic starring KJ Apa, is in theaters from Fathom Entertainment, and early critics say it nails the screen legend's drawl and aw-shucks manner while barely touching his inner life.
Critics faulted the film for turning Stewart into a vessel for patriotic values. One review called it a hokey, superficial portrait that casts him in a glowingly conservative light. Another said it carries the air of propaganda because it keeps trying to sell viewers on his greatness.
Aaron Burns directed from a screenplay by Justin Strawhand. Burns' two previous features were produced by the streaming arm of the Christian studio Affirm Films. "Jimmy" is not explicitly faith-based, but it stresses Stewart's Presbyterian background and stages more than one moment of religious epiphany.
The story opens in 1941, after Stewart's Academy Award win for "The Philadelphia Story." Drafted into the Army, he insists on serving even as MGM chief Louis B. Mayer wants him to cash in on the Oscar. He enlists in the Air Force and is stationed in England as a bomber pilot with the 453rd Bombardment Group, a commitment that keeps him off the screen for five years.
The film then follows Stewart home to the making of "It's a Wonderful Life." Its version of the story includes a re-creation of the bridge prayer scene, which Stewart named as his favorite from all his films.
Max Casella plays director Frank Capra, and Jason Alexander plays Mayer. Sarah Drew appears as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, Neal McDonough as Stewart's father and Christopher McDonald, in a brief late cameo, as Lionel Barrymore.
Kara Killmer plays Julia, a British aristocrat who romances Stewart during the war. The character is a fictional composite of Stewart's many girlfriends, and both reviews disliked the romance. They also dismissed the air combat as synthetic, unconvincing CGI.
Apa's performance drew mixed praise. Reviewers credited him with capturing Stewart's mannerisms and speech patterns but called the portrayal thin. One review said he plays Stewart the way Stewart would have played himself, without a perspective of his own.
The film's attempt to explore Stewart's wartime trauma lands on a generic picture of PTSD, one review said. Another noted that the film perks up once it reaches the "It's a Wonderful Life" shoot, where the screenplay credits that movie with healing Stewart's psychological wounds, but said the stretch is too brief to save it.
Critics also pointed to an irony in the script. In one scene, Mayer offers to make a movie about Stewart's wartime exploits, and Stewart turns it down as being in poor taste.
