Pleasantville

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Pleasantville

PG-13,

1998,

2h 3m,

Comedy

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Watchlist

85%

98 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

100,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

98 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Impressed by high school student David's (Tobey Maguire) devotion to a 1950s family TV show, a mysterious television repairman (Don Knotts) provides him with a means to escape into the black-and-white program with his sister, Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon). While David initially takes to the simplistic, corny world of the show, Jennifer sets about jolting the characters with doses of reality that unexpectedly bring a little color into their drab existence.

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Critics Consensus

Filled with lighthearted humor, timely social commentary, and dazzling visuals, Pleasantville is an artful blend of subversive satire and well-executed Hollywood formula.

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Jared Richards

The Age (Australia)

Aug 10, 2026

4/5

A simple, gorgeous visual metaphor is central to this ’90s drama, where Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire play teenage twins sucked into Pleasantville – an idyllic, low-stakes black and white sitcom from the 1950s.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 27, 2010

4/5

Great movie for high schoolers and their parents.

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Joe Leydon

Variety

Oct 18, 2008

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.

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Joshua Tyler

Giant Freakin Robot

Jun 23, 2026

Stop trying, stop striving, seek pleasure. Whatever happens happens. Roll over and take it. Expect nothing and seek only pleasure.

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Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

Oct 4, 2023

3.5/4

If the ending had been more ironic than predictable, the film might have been able to beat the similarly themed “The Truman Show” in this year’s “best of” race.

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Cory Woodroof

615 Film

Sep 20, 2022

Tobey Maguire, Joan Allen and especially Jeff Daniels are all tremendous here, and Gary Ross gives it just enough of a personality to give it an edge. Don Knotts is also doing his thing here, which I appreciate.

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Finn L

Mar 23, 2019

Though its a strange and illogical concept with one character I hate, "Repairman". This film does breathes in a great amount of fresh air. The visuals are absolutely breathtaking with its blend of color and black/white. It creates a great amount of charm and comedy into its solid performances. But mostly, its rich in character development and showing how change is significant in a persons life. Its a great film.

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Feb 2, 2019

The best fantasy movie ever made!

Kylo P

Nov 18, 2018

This film has aged well, it's cute and funny with vintage Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire!

Ron W

Sep 11, 2018

This movie is amazing! Because the actors are great, the music is pretty good and the scenes are beautiful. The movie was made me laugh and sad. Great movie!

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Leia S

Jul 28, 2018

This movie has something for everyone. The visuals for the black and white are done so well by Gary Ross. It actually looks like a genuine sitcom from the 50s at times. The change to color is done very well too. Tobey Maguire is also excellent as Bud.

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Han P

May 27, 2018

just as good as i remembered.

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Gary Ross

Director

Tobey Maguire

David Wagner

Jeff Daniels

Mr. Bill Johnson

Joan Allen

Betty Parker

William H. Macy

George Parker

J.T. Walsh

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Synopsis

Impressed by high school student David's (Tobey Maguire) devotion to a 1950s family TV show, a mysterious television repairman (Don Knotts) provides him with a means to escape into the black-and-white program with his sister, Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon). While David initially takes to the simplistic, corny world of the show, Jennifer sets about jolting the characters with doses of reality that unexpectedly bring a little color into their drab existence.

Director: Gary Ross
Producer: Steven Soderbergh, Jon Kilik, Robert Degus
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: New Line Cinema
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 17, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $40.6M
Runtime: 2h 3m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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