Pleasantville Movie Review 1998

Nerdy David (Maguire) and his slut wanna-be sister Jennifer (Witherspoon) are sucked into the sterile and innocent world of Pleasantville, a 1950s B/W TV show in constant reruns, where they find themselves in the roles of Bud and Mary Sue, the blandly adorable children of George and Betty Parker (Macy and Allen). After Jennifer shows a classmate what lovers' lane is really for, the townspeople begin to lose their innocence; the black-and-white world becomes more colorful as each new human passion is realized. The performances are dead-on, particularly Allen as the sexually awakening mom. The transition from straight comedy to social commentary is adeptly handled. The great character actor J. T. Walsh gives his usual excellent (and sadly, last) performance as the stubborn head of the chamber of commerce bitterly fighting change.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 124 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Look Ma! I'm on TV!, Fantasy, Basketball, Time Warped, Bowling, Brothers & Sisters, Mass Media

Screenplay

Gary Ross

Cast

Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Jeff Daniels, J.T. Walsh, Don Knotts, Paul Walker, Jane Kaczmarek, Marley Shelton

Cinematography

John Lindley

Director

Gary Ross

Music

Randy Newman

Producer

Larger Than Life, New Line Cinema

Awards

L.A. Film Critics 1998: Support. Actress (Allen); Broadcast Film Critics 1998: Support. Actress (Allen).