Are utopias always perfect? What do you think?
Remember back in the day when Nick at Nite aired real classic shows from the 50s and 60s? Well, notice how everything looked perfect in those shows. Nothing goes wrong. Nothing inappropriate. Anything that goes wrong is fixed within half-an-hour. Wholesome meals are always ready on time. Mom is always pretty and perfect. Dad is always witty and wise. And siblings seldom squabble. But if we really look back to the 50s, is this what we would actually see? The movie, Pleasantville, examines the cracks in the plaster of the pristine TV sitcom world.
Tobey Maguire plays David, a high school misfit who yearns for the simplicity of life in Pleasantville, his favorite TV show. His sister, Jennifer, played by Reese Witherspoon, is his opposite and turns her nose up at shows like Pleasantville while running wild with new-age freedoms. One evening, as David and Jennifer fight over the remote (David wanting to watch a Pleasantville marathon, Jennifer wanting to watch a concert on MTV with a date), they break the remote and a mysterious repairman, played by Don Knotts, shows up with a special remote. The remote transports the siblings into the world of Pleasantville, where David learns that things aren't so perfect, and Jennifer learns the restraint in its benefits of respect. The TV repairman is frantic over the changes wrought by David and Jennifer and is desperate to bring them back to their own time. The siblings help the citizens of Pleasantville step into a more enlightened world while learning more about themselves. Ultimately, the story of Pleasantville is the story about being true to who you really are inside and affording others the respect to be who they really are.
My thoughts: The cinematography is simply magnificent. The effects of the actors turning from black and white into color is so breath taking. Yes, they used a transition from sepia to color in Wizard of Oz, but Pleasantville slowly transitions black and white into color by having certain objects and people turn into color. What I like about the story is that it shows that the 50s aren't exactly the good old days. In real life, couples would fight, we were scared of nuclear threats, we were at war with Korea, etc. But overall, this is a great storyline. It's as if it's a fairy tale, but it isn't. It's more of a real-life fantasy story. The only thing I would change is the cover of The Beatles' Across the Universe by Fiona Apple. It wasn't that good a cover. The moral is there's no such thing as a perfect anything. Think about that.
Did You Know?: The two books that Bud (David) narrates to the teens at the diner, "Huckleberry Finn" and "Catcher in the Rye", are two most widely banned books in America. The TV repairman was originally written for Dick van Dyke. This was J.T. Walsh's final film before his death.
Parents Guide: This movie is rated PG-13 for thematic elements emphasizing sexuality, and for language. There's moderate sex and some nudity. A mob scene is included.
