Pleasantville (1998)
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Reviews Counted: 84
Fresh: 72 | Rotten: 12
Filled with lighthearted humor, timely social commentary, and dazzling visuals, Pleasantville is an artful blend of subversive satire and well-executed Hollywood formula.
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 22
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 6
Filled with lighthearted humor, timely social commentary, and dazzling visuals, Pleasantville is an artful blend of subversive satire and well-executed Hollywood formula.
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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 207,942
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Movie Info
Gary Ross, Oscar nominated for his Dave and Big screenplays, made his directorial debut with this comedy. The cheerful '50s TV sitcom "Pleasantville" is revived in the '90s for a loyal cable audience. One devoted fan is shy suburban teen David Wagner (Tobey Maguire), who has an almost obsessive interest in the series. Living with his divorced mother (Jane Kaczmarek), David sometimes has disputes with his ultra-hip twin sister Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon). She wants to watch MTV just when a
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Cast
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Tobey Maguire
David/Bud -
Jeff Daniels
Mr. Johnson -
Joan Allen
Betty -
William H. Macy
George -
J.T. Walsh
Big Bob -
Reese Witherspoon
Jennifer/Mary Sue -
Don Knotts
TV Repairman -
Paul Walker
Skip -
Marley Shelton
Margaret -
Jane Kaczmarek
David and Jennifer's Mo... -
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Jenny Lewis
Christin -
Giuseppe Andrews
Howard -
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All Critics (99) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (74) | Rotten (13) | DVD (24)
The lighthearted fable Pleasantville takes some pointed swipes at the make-believe world of 1950s TV -- and none too soon.
Top CriticThere's a terrific idea at the heart of Pleasantville, and it's a shame that its creator, Big screenwriter Gary Ross, can't figure where to take it.
Endearing it definitely is, so much so that it's easy to overlook the simplicity, and the sly confidence trick that gets played on us.
Ends up having more on its mind than it can successfully handle.
Funny for about half an hour, Pleasantville thereafter becomes an increasingly lugubrious, ultimately exasperating mix of technological wonder and ideological idiocy.
Gary Ross (Big, Dave) makes an impressive directing debut with this charming, nicely executed fable, which contrasts values of the 1950s with those of the 1990s.
Great movie for high schoolers and their parents.
Though Ross works in some heavy-handed strokes, his portrait of stodgy Eisenhower America dazzles with some of the loveliest imagery of any 1990s film.
Someday, maybe someday soon, someone in Hollywood is going to make a genuinely great movie about television as a metaphor for America.
Hollywood satire is not usually this enjoyable: Both savage and silly, Pleasantville is an absolute blast.
This is an exquisite, timely film. It's nice to know that occasionally, even Hollywood does something right.
Audience Reviews for Pleasantville
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- David/Bud: You mean, we're in Pleasantville?
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- Jennifer/Mary Sue: I'm all pasty.
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- George: Where's my dinner?
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- George: So, what's going to happen now?
- Betty: I don't know. Do you know what's going to happen now?
- George: [laughs] I don't.
- Mr. Johnson: I guess I don't either.
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