12:04AM, 04-02-25
A fun watch for tonight! Gary Ross’s “Pleasantville” is great all around: young Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon, a Stepford Wives-esque aesthetic, and a bravery to be both tender and silly (in the span of seconds!) I really liked the change from B&W to colour in Pleasantville as the residents progressed and broke free from canon, signalling the town’s social change (like the 50s had going into the 60s)—also just because it was a very pretty story telling device (especially at Lovers Lane!)
Some standout moments: when Jen/Mary Sue and Skip have sex for the first time (and the sex subsequently creating the cultural/social/colour change in the town??), when their mom’s orgasm made a tree set on fire😭, the shock I had when “No Coloureds” signs popped up around the town (the place full of white people☠️), and Jen just… staying in Pleasantville. Wow!
Some stuff goes unexplained (who the hell the TV repairman is, what happened to the original Bud and Mary Sue, etc.) but nothing glaring or too major that distracted me from how neat this film was. Props to the history class at my school I saw watching this through the window, you reminded me of “Pleasantville”’s existence on my watchlist!
Entertaining, easy, and incredibly sweet; for that we say, thank you! Gary Ross🌈
12:04AM, 04-02-25
A fun watch for tonight! Gary Ross’s “Pleasantville” is great all around: young Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon, a Stepford Wives-esque aesthetic, and a bravery to be both tender and silly (in the span of seconds!) I really liked the change from B&W to colour in Pleasantville as the residents progressed and broke free from canon, signalling the town’s social change (like the 50s had going into the 60s)—also just because it was a very pretty story telling device (especially at Lovers Lane!)
Some standout moments: when Jen/Mary Sue and Skip have sex for the first time (and the sex subsequently creating the cultural/social/colour change in the town??), when their mom’s orgasm made a tree set on fire😭, the shock I had when “No Coloureds” signs popped up around the town (the place full of white people☠️), and Jen just… staying in Pleasantville. Wow!
Some stuff goes unexplained (who the hell the TV repairman is, what happened to the original Bud and Mary Sue, etc.) but nothing glaring or too major that distracted me from how neat this film was. Props to the history class at my school I saw watching this through the window, you reminded me of “Pleasantville”’s existence on my watchlist!
Entertaining, easy, and incredibly sweet; for that we say, thank you! Gary Ross🌈
