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Filled with lighthearted humor, timely social commentary, and dazzling visuals, Pleasantville is an artful blend of subversive satire and well-executed Hollywood formula. Read critic reviews
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Watch Pleasantville with a subscription on Max, rent on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV.
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Movie Info
Impressed by high school student David's (Tobey Maguire) devotion to a 1950s family TV show, a mysterious television repairman (Don Knotts) provides him with a means to escape into the black-and-white program with his sister, Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon). While David initially takes to the simplistic, corny world of the show, Jennifer sets about jolting the characters with doses of reality that unexpectedly bring a little color into their drab existence.
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Rating: PG-13
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Genre: Comedy
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Original Language: English
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Director: Gary Ross
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Producer: Gary Ross, Steven Soderbergh, Jon Kilik, Robert Degus
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Writer: Gary Ross
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Release Date (Theaters): original
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $40.6M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: New Line Cinema
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Production Co: New Line Cinema
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Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
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Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for Pleasantville
Critic Reviews for Pleasantville
Audience Reviews for Pleasantville
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https://sylvesterkuo.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/review-pleasantville-the-pleasant-enlightment/
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Despite being a little formulaic and a tad sappy near the end, Pleasantville is actually a charming and funny directorial debut from screenwriter Gary Ross. It aims to derail the nostalgic thought of the past being "a simpler time" by introducing us David (Tobey Maguire), an awkward teenager who adores Pleasantville, a sitcom from the late 1950s. When he and his sister (Reese Witherspoon) are transported into the TV show by way of a magic remote, they begin to have a profound effect on the town and people of Pleasantville. The movie has a unique visual style that mixes color into black-and-white scenes (which is also an element of the story) to make its point about tolerance and accepting change. The cast is full of familiar faces aside from Maguire and Witherspoon, including William H. Macy, Jeff Daniels, J.T. Walsh, and, in a cleverly cast role, Don Knotts. Jeff Daniels is definitely one the highlights of the movie, and his lovable character provides some of the movie's biggest laughs early on. Reese Witherspoon has some great moments as well, especially when she's trying in vain to flirt with her date in Pleasantville. The movie plays out as a satire of the nostalgic view of a simpler past that many people choose to believe in, and it (not so subtly) reminds the audience that the past had its fair share of problems too. Ultimately Pleasantville is the rare formula-driven Hollywood movie that works, thanks in large part to its interesting visuals and talented cast, and it ends up being a very entertaining movie that's more than the sum of its parts.
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It's not supposed to be anything. These are the wisest words ever said. Beautifully shot, this exactingly euphoric and colorful film.
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Pleasantville begins as a neat little Back to the Future-type comedy, but it slowly reveals itself to be a masterful work that tells us the inner workings of like and breaking away from the norm and how changes can be for the best.
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