Gary Ross, Oscar nominated for his
Dave and
Big
screenplays, made his directorial debut with this comedy. The cheerful
'50s TV sitcom "Pleasantville" is revived in the '90s for a loyal cable
audience. One devoted fan is shy suburban teen David Wagner (
Tobey Maguire), who has an almost obsessive interest in the series. Living with his divorced mother (
Jane Kaczmarek), David sometimes has disputes with his ultra-hip twin sister Jennifer (
Reese Witherspoon).
She wants to watch MTV just when a Pleasantville marathon is about to
begin. They struggle over the remote control, and it breaks. A strange
TV repairman (
Don Knotts)
supplies their new remote, a potent high-tech device which zaps David
and Jennifer inside Pleasantville, where their new sitcom parents are
businessman George Parker (
William H. Macy) and wife Betty (
Joan Allen).
As "Bud" and "Mary Sue," the teens take up residence in a
black-and-white suburbia where sex does not exist and the temperature is
always 72 degrees. Life is always pleasant, books have no words,
bathrooms have no toilets, married couples sleep in twin beds, the high
school basketball team always wins, and nobody ever questions "The Good
Life." David revels in Pleasantville's Prozac-styled peacefulness.
