Pleasantville

1998
PG-13
2h 4m

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

138K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

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Fairy Tale High-Concept Comedy Period Drama Satire Teen Comedy Teen Drama Teen Fantasy Comedy Drama Fantasy

Two 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.Two 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.Two 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

138K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

3,731

315

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 18 wins & 45 nominations total

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Trailer 0:31

Pleasantville

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
At one point, when Jennifer tries to use a bathroom there aren't any toilets. This is a clever reference to an FCC ruling during the 1950's, which stated that toilets (or any reference to their use, such as the sound of flushing) could not be presented on television. While this continued on broadcast television well in to the late seventies, the barrier in movies fell in 1960 (two years after the Pleasantville scenario) when Alfred Hitchcock persuaded the film censors to allow the flushing of a toilet in Psycho (1960) because it was integral to the iconic shower scene.

Goofs
Various inconsistencies and plot holes (stopped clocks, phantom opposing basketball teams) with the real world are consistent with Pleasantville being a TV world, and hence consistent with the movie.

Quotes
David: David:
[panicked]
David: Fire! Fire! Fire!
[gets to the fire station]
David: Fire! Fire! Fire!
[finds the firemen]
David: Fire!
[nobody moves]
David: Fire!
[they look weirdly at him]
David: FIRE!
[still no movement]
David: Cat...?
[everybody gets on their feet]

Crazy credits
The New Line logo plays in complete silence.

Connections
Featured in Fiona Apple: Across the Universe (1998)

Soundtracks
Across the Universe
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by Fiona Apple
Produced by Jon Brion
Courtesy of Clean Slate/The WORK Group

User reviews775

Review

Featured review

8/10

Brilliant

Two 1990s teenagers find themselves in a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world.

This is a surprisingly strong role for Reese Witherspoon, who tends to be an overrated actress. If anything, she is actually underrated here for how well she made Jenny her own character. The appearance of Don Knotts is a great touch, and William H. Macy is wonderful as always.

While a simple concept (kids getting sucked into the TV), the execution is a work of genius. Writer-director Gary Ross used this backdrop to explore race relations, the "good old days", changing cultures and mores... and exploring a range of "right and wrong". And underneath it all, it still remains a sense of humor and does not attempt to guilt trip the audience.