Line #1 YMMV/YouCantTakeItWithYou


1	* {{Adorkable}}: A good number of the Sycamore family members.
2	** Paul and Mr. [=DePinna=] are both quite gleeful when it comes to their fireworks. Additionally, the former loves to play with children's toys while the latter is joyously excited at posing for a painting in a toga.
3	** Essie gleefully dances horribly throughout the day, while her husband Ed is all too happy to supply her with some music.
4	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: It's unambiguous that Grandpa is opposed to paying the IRS, but when he has to argue against an agent, his answers can be interpreted as either totally genuine or he's actively trying to {{Troll}} Henderson.
5	* CrazyIsCool:
6	** Grandpa may be just as nuts as the other Sycamores, but he’s smart as a whip, getting the better of anyone who disagrees with him.
7	** Can apply to the Sycamore family in general. Despite beings a bunch of kooks who are mostly lacking in talent, skills, and common sense, they all live happy and fulfilling lives without a care in the world.
8	* DesignatedVillain: Wilbur C. Henderson doesn't come across as particularly nice, but he's still legally correct to try and get Grandpa to pay his taxes for the many years he missed. Granted, Grandpa himself doesn't vilify him, even though he's in total disagreement.
9	* FairForItsDay: Rheba and Donald may seem a bit dated, but they’re shown to be as likable and kind as the other main characters, and despite the former being their maid and the latter helping them with the occasional job, both of them are treated like family by the Sycamores, who view them as being equals. Also helps that modern productions downplay their stereotypes, such as having both speak perfect English. It also helps that the [[ColorBlindCasting usually white Mr. [=DePinna=]]] is treated the exact same way as them, being someone who works for the family, but is an honorary member in all but name, showing that the Sycamores regard people of color in the same way that they would a white man.
10	* JerkassWoobie:
11	** Mr. Kirby is a stiff prude and more than a little bit of a jerk who's trying to force his way of life on his son. But we also learn that he had that same way of living forced on ''him'' by ''his'' father, who forced him to give up his dreams, with the end result being a very unhappy man. He also goes through a good amount of abuse in the play before getting his happy ending.
12	** Mrs. Kirby actually comes across as more unpleasant than her husband, but there's also the implication that she's similarly unhappy with her life and marriage, and her visit to the Sycamores is also far from a good time. And unlike her husband, we never even get to see her get her happy ending, though as noted below we can at least presume her woe's will be helped due to her husband's change.
13	* MagnificentBastard: Grandpa Martin Vanderhof is the head of the Sycamore family, and by far the smartest person in the entire play. When his family seems like it’s about to fall apart, Grandpa goes into a series of speeches that simultaneously manages to convince Anthony Kirby Senior to give up his unhappy straight laced life and turn to Grandpa’s more free spirited way of living, rekindles the romance and engagement between his granddaughter Alice and Kirby’s son Tony, and brings all of the family members out of their low points and restores them to high spirits. Not only that, but he’s managed to go decades living well and making money despite not doing a bit of work. When the government steps in to put a stop to this and make him pay, Grandpa effortlessly puts together a scheme to convince them the Martin Vanderhof they’re looking for is his deceased father, which not only causes them to apologize and say he doesn’t have to pay a cent, but it’s implied that he’ll even be paid for pointing this out.
14	* OneSceneWonder: Wilbur Henderson, Gay Wellington, Mrs. Kirby, and Olga Katrina only appears in one scene each, but they all get their chance to shine.
15	* SoBadItsGood: In the hands of the right actress, Essie's horrible dancing can be downright hilarious.
16	* StrawmanHasAPoint:
17	** While Wilbur Henderson's argument for Grandpa paying taxes gets drowned out by his {{Jerkass}} behavior and immature meltdowns, he's still just trying to get someone to follow the law, and if everybody followed Grandpa's example, the country would be in a lot of trouble.
18	** Mr. Kirby's a less noticeable case, but despite Grandpa's defense that there's always people who like and will do the work, the original point that Grandpa's way of living can be disastrous is still valid, as most would never be able to financially survive doing so, and even the well off Grandpa nearly gets into serious money trouble.
19	* SweetnessAversion: While the play isn’t without its drama, it’s bound to get this response from some people given it’s a story about a family made up entirely of kind hearted, happy people who almost always get along with each other. Given it’s a very popular play for high schools, many teenagers who perform it feel this way, as it’s not exactly the kind of story that teens will relate to or care for.
20	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Mrs. Kirby is completely absent from Act 3, meaning she misses out on the rest of the families' resolution, even though much like her husband she appeared to be unhappy with her life. The film has her present for the ending though.
21	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Kolenkhov terrorizes Mr. Kirby a few times, but [[InnocentlyInsensitive he has good intentions]] so he's still likable. But him blowing up in self defense shortly after he wrestled the man to the ground and broke his glasses can test this. Though with a more confused than angry delivery, it's not a problem.
22	* {{Wangst}}:
23	** Alice can fall victim to this due to all the times she cries about her family hurting her chances of happiness. It's not ''too'' bad though given she's still devotedly loving of the other Sycamores. Her insistence against marrying Tony later on despite his family not actually objecting might've been annoying if it wasn't for her being so solemn about the whole thing.
24	** Kolenkhov complains about the Soviet Union ''a lot''. Though given this is the Soviet Union we're talking about here, and most of his complaints are comedic, it's not too bad.
25	* TheWoobie:
26	** Alice genuinely loves Tony, but after a disastrous meeting between their families, despite her best efforts, she’s left utterly heartbroken to the extent that she plans to leave behind him and her fiancée. Luckily, Grandpa snaps her out of it.
27	** The entire Sycamore family are crushed at the prospect of Alice leaving, but Paul takes it worse than any of them. In his attempts to comfort Penny, he tells her that he blames himself that he felt horribly insecure in the presence of the more successful Mr. Kirby. The whole situation left him doubting his competency as a parent, and unsure of whether or not he’s wasted his life on pleasures. Not to mention all his hard efforts on the fireworks were for naught as they went off before they could properly be used. Much like his daughter though, he thankfully perks up after Grandpa fixes the situation.
28	** In the midst of all the grieving, Mr. [=DePinna=] stands out as the only one of the Sycamores who suffered physical pain, being bandaged and slightly limping on account of running in to stop the fireworks. And much like Paul, all his hard work on them meant nothing, and he lost his roman costume too.
29	** Tony feels oppressed by his father’s expectations to follow in his footsteps and is similarly heartbroken by Alice’s plan to end their engagement, with every attempt of his to fix it being met with rejection. Once again, Grandpa helps him out.

Context YMMV / YouCantTakeItWithYou