Pleasantville (1998)

Two 1990s teenage siblings find themselves in a 1950s sitcom, where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world.

Director:

Gary Ross

Writer:

Gary Ross

Stars:

Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tobey Maguire	...	David
Reese Witherspoon	...	Jennifer
William H. Macy	...	George Parker
Joan Allen	...	Betty Parker
Jeff Daniels	...	Bill Johnson
J.T. Walsh	...	Big Bob
Don Knotts	...	TV Repairman
Marley Shelton	...	Margaret Henderson
Jane Kaczmarek	...	David's Mom
Giuseppe Andrews	...	Howard
Jenny Lewis	...	Christin
Marissa Ribisi	...	Kimmy
Denise Dowse	...	Health Teacher
McNally Sagal	...	Science Teacher
Paul Morgan Stetler	...	College Counselor

Storyline

David Wagner is a kid whose mind is stuck in the 1950s. He's addicted to a classic 50's sitcom television show called "Pleasantville". Pleasantville is a simple place, a place where all of its citizens are swell and simple-minded folks, a place where the word "violence", and life outside of Pleasantville, is unbeknownst to its inhabitants; things are perfect down in Pleasantville. One evening, the life of David and his obnoxious sister Jennifer take a bizarre turn when an eccentric repairman hand them a supposed magical remote. After a quarrel between the siblings, they inexplicably zap themselves into the world of "Pleasantville". Now, David and Jennifer must adjust to a 50s lifestyle of repressed desires and considerably different societal values while trying to find their way home.

---

Plot Keywords:

1950s | trapped in tv | family values | free thinker | rebellion | 

---

Taglines:

Nothing Is As Simple As Black And White.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements emphasizing sexuality, and for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pleasantville

Filming Locations:

Petaluma, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,855,063, 25 October 1998

Gross USA:

$40,584,421

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$49,805,462

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Larger Than Life Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Bud/David (Tobey Maguire) is driving Margaret (Marley Shelton) to Lover's Lane, he is driving a white 1952 Buick Roadmaster, and the song, "At Last", by Etta James, is playing in the background. Contrary to some claims, this is not the same model year car that Tom Cruise's and Dustin Hoffman's characters drove in Rain Man (1988).

---

Goofs

In the Bowling Alley scene, as the men are speaking about the horrendous changes taking place, several of the men appear to be drinking from Coca-Cola bottles. However, the bottles appear to be 20 oz bottles. In 1958, the more common Coca-Cola bottle would have been an 8 oz bottle. or a 6 oz bottle. One of the men even appears to be drinking from a Diet Coke bottle of a later date.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
[David is gazing admiringly at a pretty blonde girl]
David: *Hi*
[chuckles]
David: I mean, Hi. Uh, look, you probably don't think I should be asking you this. I mean, not knowing you well and all? I mean, you know, I, I, I know you, 'cause everybody knows you. I just don't know you technically. Uh, anyhow. Uh, I don't know what you're doing this weekend, but my mom's leaving town, and she's letting me borrow the car.
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

The New Line logo plays in complete silence.

---

Connections

Spoofed in Pleasureville: A Digital Playground XXX Parody (2018)

---

Soundtracks

Destiny
Written by Lordikim (as Lordikim Allah), Brendan B. Brown and Ali Dee
Performed by Mister Jones

User Reviews

Halfway Home

"Pleasantville" as about a pair of modern teenagers who are transported into a black-and-white 50s TV show. That scenario has disaster potential of FEMA proportions, so when the filmmakers avoided making a post-modern film version of "Gilligan's Island" starring Will Ferrell is half the battle. And director Gary Ross got just about everything else about "Pleasantville" half-right, which makes for a halfway decent viewing experience, nowhere near as bad as it could be, but not as good either.

The look of the scenes in the sitcom small-town is half-right -- the costumes, hairstyles and set decorations are perfect, but the pretty black-and-white cinematography and odd camera angles are more reminiscent of an art movie by Scorcese or Woody Allen than grainy single-set 50s TV. The casting is half-right. Don Knotts as the mysterious TV repairman who transforms people into sitcom characters? Perfect. Tobey Maguire as the nerdy, unpopular teen obsessed with an old family sitcom? Way too easy. Looking at Tobey Maguire back in 1998, you assumed he was a geek, so he coasts on his charisma deficit and doesn't bother creating much of a character. Reese Witherspoon as the slutty girl who introduces sexual liberation into the staid 1950s? Brilliant. This was before anyone knew how good she was, and her depth and intelligence shine through this gimmicky role -- her sense of mischief in her early sitcom scene is hilarious, her transformation into a more thoughtful young woman is quite moving. Jeff Daniels as the soda jerk with artistic aspirations? Confused. Is his character stupid or repressed? Daniels never figures it out so he plays it both ways and winds up just kind of stiff and awkward. Finally, the politics of "Pleasantville" are halfway thought-provoking. A few scenes of book burning and threatened gang rape are enough to make you wonder if "Pleasantville" is about the sentimental impulse at the heart of fascism. But that's kind of intense for an American movie so it almost literally backs away from that idea in a bizarre edit and becomes a sentimental movie about self-acceptance and self-actualization. Which is fine, just not incredibly distinctive. Good but not great.