Pleasantville (1998)
81%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 3 Oscars
18 wins & 45 nominations total
Filled with lighthearted humor, timely social commentary, and dazzling visuals, Pleasantville is an artful blend of subversive satire and well-executed Hollywood formula
Pleasantville” is like a time machine that takes you back to the 1950s, but with a twist. The movie is a hilarious and thought-provoking satire that pokes fun at the idealized version of the past that we often see in movies and TV shows. The story follows two siblings who get sucked into a black-and-white TV show and start to change the world around them by introducing color and new ideas. The movie is full of clever references to classic TV shows and movies, and the performances by Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon are top-notch. If you’re looking for a fun and entertaining movie that will make you think, “Pleasantville” is definitely worth a watch.
Production Company(ies)
20th Century Studios, Amblin Entertainment, Amblin Partners
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Petaluma, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements emphasizing sexuality, and for language
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 3m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 17, 1998 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 1999
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen, William H Macy, J.T Walsh, Reese Witherspoon, Don Knotts, directed by Gary Ross, written by Gary Ross, produced by Gary Ross, Steven Soderbergh, Jon Kilik, Robert Degus, comedy, PG-13, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Nell Minow, Joe Leydon, Derek Adams, Jeff Strickler, Edward Guthmann, Steven D Greydanus, Grant Watson, Richard Propes, Kathi Maio, Zaki Hasan, Tobey Maguire as David Wagner, Jeff Daniels as Mr Bill Johnson, Joan Allen as Betty Parker, William H Macy as George Parker, J.T Walsh as Big Bob, Reese Witherspoon as Jennifer Wagner, black-and-white, color, 1950s, TV show, social commentary, Hollywood formula, satire, subversive, artful blend, well-executed, dazzling visuals, mysterious television repairman, escape, simplistic, corny world, doses of reality, drab existence, high school student, family, timely, intolerance, insecurity, values, tolerance, change, nostalgia, problems, Back to the Future, masterful work, breaking away from the norm, changes, best, euphoric, inner workings, top horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, horror movies, TV shows, anticipated movies, anticipated TV and streaming, renewed and cancelled TV shows, worst horror movies, accessibility
Worldwide gross: $49,805,462
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $91,400,046
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,063
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 9,967,290
US/Canada gross: $40,584,421
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $74,478,135
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 892
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,855,063
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $16,250,289
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 751
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $60,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $110,108,460
Production budget ranking: 346
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $59,293,406
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$78,001,821
ROI to date (est.): -46%
ROI ranking: 1,662
Jeff Daniels – Mr. Bill Johnson
Joan Allen – Betty Parker
William H. Macy – George Parker
J.T. Walsh – Big Bob
Reese Witherspoon – Jennifer Wagner
Director(s)
Gary Ross
Writer(s)
Gary Ross
Producer(s)
Gary Ross, Steven Soderbergh, Jon Kilik, Robert Degus
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
18 wins & 45 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (96) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (14)
Great movie for high schoolers and their parents.
December 27, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
Ingeniously conceived and impressively executed, “Pleasantville” is a provocative, complex and surprisingly anti-nostalgic parable wrapped in the beguiling guise of a commercial high-concept comedy.
October 18, 2008
Joe Leydon
Variety
TOP CRITIC
An ingenious fable, screenwriter Ross’s directorial debut playfully spoofs the small-minded lifestyle idealised by ‘family values’ advocates, and the intolerance and insecurity underlying that ideal.
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
The lighthearted fable Pleasantville takes some pointed swipes at the make-believe world of 1950s TV — and none too soon.
November 6, 2002 | Rating: 3.5/4
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
TOP CRITIC
There’s a terrific idea at the heart of Pleasantville, and it’s a shame that its creator, Big screenwriter Gary Ross, can’t figure where to take it.
June 18, 2002 | Rating: 2/4
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
For a movie that makes such a big deal about color, Pleasantville is awfully black and white.
May 8, 2002 | Rating: F
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films
TOP CRITIC
When characters begin to refer to “coloured people” in a film with exactly zero actual people of colour in the entire work, Ross’ allegory shifts from weak to active inappropriate.
April 7, 2021 | Rating: 4/10
Grant Watson
Fiction Machine
It is a reminder to me that the changes I wish to see in society I must first make within myself.
September 20, 2020 | Rating: 4.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Is Pleasantville worth the trip? Sure. It’s not the movie it might have been, but so few are.
February 26, 2020
Kathi Maio
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
Its true strength lies in what it says not only about life, but about ourselves.
January 29, 2019 | Rating: A
Zaki Hasan
Zaki’s Corner
Gary Ross (Big, Dave) makes an impressive directing debut with this charming, nicely executed fable, which contrasts values of the 1950s with those of the 1990s.
August 13, 2011 | Rating: B+
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Though Ross works in some heavy-handed strokes, his portrait of stodgy Eisenhower America dazzles with some of the loveliest imagery of any 1990s film.
February 23, 2006 | Rating: 3/4
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly…
Plot
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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jeff Daniels is one of the highlights of the movie, and his lovable character provides some of the movie’s biggest laughs early on.
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