221. Pleasantville (1998)
We're supposed to be at home, David. We're supposed to be in color.
Title: Pleasantville
Date Watched: 5/17/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: N/A
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 9
Synopsis: Two 90's teenagers are transplanted into the world of a 1950's sit-com.
The Good: Strongly executed and well-thought out idea. Takes a cheesy concept and turns it into sharp social commentary about the nature of cultural change. Symbolic and clever without being heady or pretentious. Oftentimes beautiful.
The Bad: Probably heavy-handed, but I didn't care. Some of the symbolism isn't particularly subtle, either, I guess. I wish the movie had gone just a little bit further and gotten the R-rating -- this is adult material and shouldn't have been softened.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Amazon. I have an addiction.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yes.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Hey, that's Don Knotts!
Other Impressions: I loved this movie when I saw it 15 years ago and I think I loved it even more when I watched it today. It's somewhat deceptive, in that it lures you in with the promise of a silly comedy (indeed, pretty much the exact same premise was used for 1992's Stay Tuned), but then quickly turns into a movie that has things to say, and isn't shy about sharing them. And, if anything, the message resonates even stronger today than it did when the movie came out.
The white-washed Leave it to Beaver world of the 50's looks appealing on TV -- people were all friendly and neighborhoods seemed safe -- but people were also extremely repressed and trapped into living life through social norms. Then the 60's came and, with it, the sexual revolution along with civil rights and counterculture. These are wonderful things, but societies resist change and in order to gain freedoms, people need to give up comfort.
Daniel Dennett describes the concept of a "universal acid." This is an acid so strong that it burns through everything. There's only one problem: how do you store it? It'll dissolve whatever container you put it in.
Such is the case with progress. Once it starts, it can't be contained -- you can burn books and attack or repress people who represent the change, but it's a slow, uphill battle. It's also one that doesn't necessarily result in more happiness, but it's still worth fighting.
Pleasantville represents change using a neat visual effects trick where things change from black and white to color -- it's probably a bit hamfisted, at times, but it also results in moments of unexpected beauty, such as when Bud puts make-up on his mom so she can still fit in, or when we first see the red of a rose and the pink of bubble gum popping. The movie obviously has something to say about progress and those who try to hold it back, and that's one of the things I liked about it. But, even more than the message, which I happen to agree with, I love that writer-director Gary Ross found a way to show it visually and that he confidently marches forward with it.
This is not a studio movie, but it was sold as such and didn't do especially well in theaters. Unfortunately, it hasn't really gained a cult following, either, though it deserves it because, in a just world, this would have been nominated for best picture. Pleasantville represents bold filmmaking and one of the very rare cases of true originality to come out of the Hollywood system.
The List
Title: Pleasantville
Date Watched: 5/17/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: N/A
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 9
Synopsis: Two 90's teenagers are transplanted into the world of a 1950's sit-com.
The Good: Strongly executed and well-thought out idea. Takes a cheesy concept and turns it into sharp social commentary about the nature of cultural change. Symbolic and clever without being heady or pretentious. Oftentimes beautiful.
The Bad: Probably heavy-handed, but I didn't care. Some of the symbolism isn't particularly subtle, either, I guess. I wish the movie had gone just a little bit further and gotten the R-rating -- this is adult material and shouldn't have been softened.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Amazon. I have an addiction.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yes.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Hey, that's Don Knotts!
Other Impressions: I loved this movie when I saw it 15 years ago and I think I loved it even more when I watched it today. It's somewhat deceptive, in that it lures you in with the promise of a silly comedy (indeed, pretty much the exact same premise was used for 1992's Stay Tuned), but then quickly turns into a movie that has things to say, and isn't shy about sharing them. And, if anything, the message resonates even stronger today than it did when the movie came out.
The white-washed Leave it to Beaver world of the 50's looks appealing on TV -- people were all friendly and neighborhoods seemed safe -- but people were also extremely repressed and trapped into living life through social norms. Then the 60's came and, with it, the sexual revolution along with civil rights and counterculture. These are wonderful things, but societies resist change and in order to gain freedoms, people need to give up comfort.
Daniel Dennett describes the concept of a "universal acid." This is an acid so strong that it burns through everything. There's only one problem: how do you store it? It'll dissolve whatever container you put it in.
Such is the case with progress. Once it starts, it can't be contained -- you can burn books and attack or repress people who represent the change, but it's a slow, uphill battle. It's also one that doesn't necessarily result in more happiness, but it's still worth fighting.
Pleasantville represents change using a neat visual effects trick where things change from black and white to color -- it's probably a bit hamfisted, at times, but it also results in moments of unexpected beauty, such as when Bud puts make-up on his mom so she can still fit in, or when we first see the red of a rose and the pink of bubble gum popping. The movie obviously has something to say about progress and those who try to hold it back, and that's one of the things I liked about it. But, even more than the message, which I happen to agree with, I love that writer-director Gary Ross found a way to show it visually and that he confidently marches forward with it.
This is not a studio movie, but it was sold as such and didn't do especially well in theaters. Unfortunately, it hasn't really gained a cult following, either, though it deserves it because, in a just world, this would have been nominated for best picture. Pleasantville represents bold filmmaking and one of the very rare cases of true originality to come out of the Hollywood system.
The List