Capraesque

[ kap-ruh-esk ]

adjective

1. relating to or in the style of the movies of Frank Capra, focusing on courage and its positive effects and the triumph of the underdog.

Example Sentences

It is one of the ironies of Hollywood history — one of the sadder ironies, in fact — that Capraesque has become a highly desirable word to describe a new film.

From Los Angeles Times

The arch sentimentality can get Capraesque, as when Hagerty tells a hostile Senate committee that he’s decided not to testify, and instead carries the day by showing a bereaved family a spacewalk video.

From New York Times

This period Capraesque comedy about an ordinary guy – a rather uncharismatic Tim Robbins – who is elevated to corporate greatness as part of a share-price scam is an example of how the Coens’ comedy can sometimes lack focus: too quirky and spongy.

From The Guardian

The first-rate theater minds assembled for “Dave,” under the stewardship of director Tina Landau — a Tony nominee for her inspired staging of “SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical” — surely can hone this material and play even more smartly with its Capraesque formula, adapted from a 1993 movie comedy that starred Kevin Kline.

From Washington Post

It’s a movie that draws on a spirit of Capraesque romantic decency, combined with the toughness and resolution on display in Alan J Pakula’s All the President’s Men: a world of chain-smoking, shirtsleeved newsmen who were given weeks and months to work on an important story.

From The Guardian