Rating: PG13
Genre: Comedy
Theatrical Release: 10/23/1998(USA)
Release Date: 03/23/1999
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English
Sound: 5.1/2
Run Time: 124 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Suitable for Teens
Distributor/Studio: New Line Home Video

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 Pleasantville marathon is about to begin. They struggle over the remote control, and it breaks. A strange TV repairman (Don Knotts) supplies their new remote, a potent high-tech device which zaps David and Jennifer inside Pleasantville, where their new sitcom parents are businessman George Parker (William H. Macy) and wife Betty (Joan Allen). As "Bud" and "Mary Sue," the teens take up residence in a black-and-white suburbia where sex does not exist and the temperature is always 72 degrees. Life is always pleasant, books have no words, bathrooms have no toilets, married couples sleep in twin beds, the high school basketball team always wins, and nobody ever questions "The Good Life." David revels in Pleasantville's Prozac-styled peacefulness. He fits right in, but Jennifer's 1990s attitude upsets the blandness balance, painting parts of Pleasantville in "living color." Repressed desires surface, cracks appear in the '50s lifestyles, and the Pleasantville populace finds their lives changing in strange, wonderful ways. It's liberating -- but there's also a darker side. This film breaks an all-time record with more than 1700 special effects shots. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival.

~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Cast:
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 Mom

Production:
Gary Ross - Director
Robert J. Degus Gary Ross Steven Soderbergh Jon Kilik - Producer
Allen Alsobrook Edward Lynn Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz Allison Thomas - Co Producer
Randy Newman - Composer
William C. Goldenberg - Editor
Gary Ross - Screen Writer
Dianne I. Wager - Art Director
Debra Zane - Casting
Ellen Lewis - Casting
John Lindley - Cinematographer
Judianna Makovsky - Costume Designer
Mary Parent - Executive Producer
Michael De Luca - Executive Producer
Jeannine Oppewall - Production Designer
Robert Anderson, Jr. - Sound/Sound Designer
Chris Watts - Special Effects Supervisor
Ted Chu - First Assistant Camera

Chances Are [P&S]
    Cybill Shepherd / PG / 1989
Mr. Destiny
    James Belushi / PG13 / 1990
The Purple Rose of Cairo
    Mia Farrow / PG / 1985
The Truman Show [WS]
    Jim Carrey / PG / 1998
Andy Colby's Incredibly Awesome Adventure
    PG / 1989
Hairspray
    Ricki Lake / PG / 1988
Stay Tuned
    John Ritter / PG / 1992

1998 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie

1998 Broadcast Film Critics Association

1998 Los Angeles Film Critics Association