Pleasantville is an old T.V. show where the family, the Parkers, live in a town called "Pleasantville." They have a daughter and a son, dinner is always on the table a 6:00 P.M., and the basketball team always wins.
David Wagner (Toby Maguire) is a regular high school kid who is smart, and doesn't get the girls. In a word, he's a geek.
Jennifer Wagner (Reese Witherspoon), David's sister, is a high school kid who doesn't try at all and has slept with half the school. In a word, she's a slut.
David and Jennifer don't like each other much. Their mother (Jane Kaczmarek) is divorced, and is in rough shape. She decides to leave the kids alone for the weekend.
David plans to spend the Friday night watching the Pleasantville marathon. Jennifer has a date coming over. Both of them want to use the "big" T.V., and not the small one upstairs. As they are fighting over the remote control, it gets tossed and shatters against a wall. Suddenly, the doorbell rings and a kindly old man claiming to be a T.V. repair man (Don Knotts), wonders in. The man tells them that he has a special remote for them because their remote broke. Long story short, David and Jennifer use the remote and get zapped into Pleasantville, David becoming Bud Parker and Jennifer becoming Mary-Sue!
While in Pleasantville, David and Jennifer wreak havoc on the small, "perfect" town, not by doing bad things, but by doing things they think are right. This includes screwing up the lives of their parents George Parker (William H. Macy) and his wife Betty (Joan Allen). (Incidentally, Will Macy and Joan Allen could be substitutes for Ozzie and Harriet. They both look identical to Ozzie and Harriet. It's uncanny.)
What was once black and white is now slowly turning into color, and David must see that things are straightened out, he must see that injustices are not committed.
Pleasantville is one of the most unique movies to come out in a long time. One of the most unique aspects of the film is how David and Jennifer change the citizen�s of Pleasantville. It was a nice touch how the �colored� people are discriminated against, and that some of them have to wear make-up to hide this fact. The process of adding color to the black and white of the film was ingenious, and it�s a shame the film didn�t have more Oscar nominations for visual effects or one for best picture.
Plot: 
What an ingenious idea for a film! The time-travel to the 50's part had been done before (in Back to the Future, and other such movies), but it's the way it was done. The two kids go into a 50's T.V. show VIA a remote control. This is an ingenious film, and its plot only enhances it!
Visual Effects:
Absolutely breathtaking. The way the colors were taken away, and then put back to make color on black & white is just awesome. The colors are vividly wicked.
Sound:
There are not many songs, but sounds are still average. The score by Randy Newman was well done.
Character Development:
There are big changes for the main characters, and it shows.
Atmosphere:
It's easy to get into Pleasantville, and once things start to get going, you'll be glued to your T.V.
Realism:
Hey... Pleasantville is a fantasy. But, it does deal with real-life issues very well. And it's great for English class.
Warren�s Rating:
8.43/10Is the movie worth your time to watch?
27-05-03
