This hit too close to home! Pleasantville Movie Reaction!! 

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More reactors need to see this movie. It works on so many levels!

My father was absolutely like the father in this film. "Where's my dinner?" really hit home. I saw it first run in the theater and others around me really squirmed when the "No Coloreds" sign appeared, and the real message became clear. And the Randy Newman music is perfect too! One of my favorites.

This is a movie needs watched today. I think we might be surprised by how some people react to it.

One of my favorite films. I was expecting a whacky comedy about being trapped in an old sitcom. Instead I got something a lot deeper and surprisingly poignant. The scene in the court room where the "coloreds" are segregated to the balcony reminded me of the courtroom scene in "To Kill a Mockingbird" where the black townspeople are also restricted to the balcony.

I tear up everytime I watch this throughout the whole film. Especially the whole Jeff Daniels arc As someone whose worldview is largely based around art and beauty but also was raised and still is Christian; this film has a ton of interesting questions and perspectives involving life, sin, lust, love, motivation, dreams, inspiration, censorship, awakening, self love, racial undertones, knowledge of good and evil etc. The themes here are so deep and underexplored I don't know why this film isn't more beloved in the mainstream :)

This is a lovely film with a deep message. Wanted to be sure that you caught that the TV Repairman was played by the legendary Don Knotts who played Barney Fife in the classic Andy Griffith Show which could have been considered a Pleasantville of it's day. He had a nice long career.

This movie was DECADES ahead of its time. It's a really good look at past issues and again at current and future issues that will inevitably pop up. This movie really doesn't get enough credit for the amount of layers involved and how genius it actually is. I don't think a single person could ever unpack all of the messages in it and that's why I enjoy watching reactors seeing this film; everyone takes away different things both obvious and obscure. It's one of my favorite films of all time. I think one of the reasons for that is that it's truly timeless. When it first came out I pushed everyone to see it and was really happy with their enjoyment of it. A year or so later, everyone was like "oh nah I've seen it already. It was ok" and interest in it kind of died off. Then a new generation comes around and again I push for people to see it and again I get to hear how impactful it was for them and how much they enjoyed it. There's always going to be a group of people or a new generation popping up that is going to experience this film for the first time and it's really going to affect them simply because its message is so deliberately broad and open while also very specific. Sadly it is just human nature that we are going to continue to have these issues, and I think this movie does a fantastic job at highlighting what human nature really is.

This movie IS Magic! The scene os The makeup is PURE GOLD. The visual effects are fabulous!

Lovely & thoughtful reaction! This is a work of genius. When my wife and I first saw it, we argued for an hour over whether it was modernist or postmodernist. In addition to all the (true!) things you said, it is a commentary on nostalgia and the yearning for a more “perfect“ past. Imagine the Chamber of Commerce saying “Let’s make Pleasantville great again,” and you begin to get the idea. The mural painted on the wall bears a striking resemblance to Picasso’s “Guernica“, which notably was done in black, white, and gray. When David wipes off his (real) mother’s dripping mascara at the end of the film, it’s the exact same gesture he uses to apply the gray makeup to his TV mother earlier. And even in this frozen, retrograde, sitcom world, the two siblings are able to grow and find themselves. This is really a version of what Northrop Frye called the “green world comedy,” in which adolescents escape the strictures of their home for a “wild“ and isolated place, where they are transformed (often but not exclusively sexually), and then return home as adults.

In the 1950s & 60s, married couples slept in separate beds. Sex wasn't acknowledged. Lucille Ball's very public pregnancy during the filming of I Love Lucy was probably the *first* pregnancy on TV!!! I love how quickly you caught on to the metaphor in this movie.

I'm so glad you reacted to this movie. I love it so much.

The TV Repair guy is Don Knotts - Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show!

Not only I love this film, it should've gotten way more Oscar nominations. Overall its quite amazing how this movie is quite relevant today's world given its theme of change...some people would be receptive to social change while other will not.

I was raised by a person who felt like any emotion other than being "pleasant" was a bad thing. Always told I was "too emotional". This movie hits me right in the feels. It's about all the wonderful (good and bad) experiences and feelings that make us human AND unite us. The foolishness that we let divide us. Suppressing the things that make us special or unique or beautiful, and thus letting the world miss out on our potential. We all have the tendency to stay "pleasant" to keep ourselves and the others around us comfortable. I've noticed that the people who "get it" were raised in that kind of environment- Chris got it right away. Every one of the talented actors in this movie understood the assignment; they walk that fine line between comedy and tragedy. I know Paul Walker is known primarily for the Fast and the Furious movies (I haven't seen a single one), but I think he's perfect in this.

This movie was WAY ahead of its time.

I believe this is a perfect example of an underrated film.

This movie is amazing.. Even just the snippets in this reaction make me start weeping - the actual movie has made me fall apart every time I have seen it.. So well done, and such an important message especially today! (which you expressed pretty darned well!)

The Adam Sandler film Click has taught me to be wary of guys played by old comedic actors handing out supernatural remotes...

There's lots of stuff I like about your channel, but here's the top 2 that set you apart from other reaction channels: 1) You actually choose shows and movies that don't get reviewed on other channels (this one is a good example), other reaction channels just copy each other and the same movie gets reacted to countless times. 2) You actually think about what you're watching and give insight into themes and deeper meanings about what you're watching, most reaction channels are just meaningless enthusiasm devoid of any insight to what they're watching. Can't think of another reaction channel where I would expect them to figure out when and why color is added in this movie.

This is a story about the first chapter in the Bible about the Garden of Eden.....from the serpents point of view. When the people of Pleasantville learn about sex, or what's outside of Pleasantville, or what the world can be, they have knowledge. They have eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As they learn about good, evil, shame, lust, etc... they see color. The people of Pleasantville weren't thrown out of the Garden of Eden. They escaped.

I remember when this movie first came out. I was absolutely blown away by how deep it actually was and to this day, few movies handle its themes with such grace and aplomb. it remains one of my favorite movies of all time and I'm so glad people are still discovering it. thanks for another great reaction, Chris! ❤

Fun trivia: on Malcolm in the Middle, aside from a mention in the pilot, never mentioned the families last name in its run. It was meant to not be known.

Pleasantville is my personal favorite movie, so I'm glad you not only enjoyed it but that it resonated with you. I love how it started off kind of goofy and then changed into something beautiful and profound. I grew up watching old TV shows and used to watch Nick at Nite quite a bit during the 90s, so I love the old black and white sitcoms. On the other hand, they paint a very unrealistic world, one that some people today sadly long for not understanding that it never really existed, at least not for a lot of people who lived during those times. This move encapsulates that very well. There aren't enough reactions to this one, yet, but hopefully it'll trend at some point and start making the rounds.

To me this film is a representation of idealised reality vs real world, the simplicity we crave is also removing growth and passion, the life we wish we had and how “things are supposed to be” are very black and white but the real world is more vibrant with its good and its bad. The sexual revolution did not start bringing in colour because it was “good” but because it brought in complexity and challenged status quo. The allegory to Eden in Bud taking the apple from the girl is also representing this seeking knowledge (development, growth) vs staying in the “ideal/static”. I feel like it’s more relevant today than ever. Love this film!!! Thank you for reacting to it ❤

SUCH A GREAT FILM!!! THANK YOU!!!!! I've been promoting this film since it first came out... One of the most gorgeous films ever. The direction... the music (Randy Newman, plus a host of fantastic songs... from Etta James to Fiona Apple singing the Beatles), the upper-tier actors, and the story... from sitcom funny to serious drama.. beautifully told. Another quirky, beautiful film you'd love: "STRANGER THAN FICTION"... it's a truly remarkable film starring Will Ferral (in a mostly non-comedic role... and he's great at it), Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Queen Latifah, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. It's fantastic!

Passion. The word you're looking for is passion.

I believe this movie touches something very deep inside those of us who were raised in the Utah-based religion that seems to stress conformity over individuality, in particular those of us who have questioned whether it's a good thing or not. The whole idea of opening up to see the beauty around you is such a primal key to becoming our own person that it resonates with people who are growing and changing from any kind of situation they felt trapped in to a new, strange, scary, but rewarding situation. This movie is truly genius.

Things that don't change are reliable, they're familiar, and they're safe. But without the unpleasant, we have no stimulus or challenge to grow. I've done counseling for others. It's interesting: you can take people's complaints, analyze those complaints, draw out where things are likely to go, and propose options that resolve the issues they are complaining about... And yet, more often than not, they don't change. They actually decide NOT to change. It's the devil they know that wins out over the devil they don't know. If they don't change, they know how things will end. But if they DO change, they aren't sure where things will land, so they don't change. They're familiar with the rut they're in, but are afraid of what's beyond the rut they're in. David loved the safety of the familiar. His family was going through unpleasant changes, so he submerged himself in the show. His sister Jennifer submerged herself in being promiscuous, again the safety of the familiar. It wasn't until they were moved to enter the unfamiliar that they left their old scripts and became 'fully-actualized' in color. Yes, this film is also on my Favorites list. And I loved your embrace of it. Nice analysis!

I am THRILLED you reacted to this movie. It is my favorite film - Gary Ross was writer/director and the way he wove everything together is still amazing to me. I wrote college papers on this film, it is so fabulously done. It starts off seeming to be somewhat of a fluff plot and then develops into these important ideas about authenticity and diversity and expanding your world. Wonderful reaction, thanks! (On a similar feel-good vein, I recommend Holes, 2003)

The painting on the police station made me think of Picasso's " Guernica " I figure every 1/2 hour in real time is a week in Pleasantville time so she should be able to finish her BA in about 5 days.

finally, someone has reacted to my favorite movie. this movie deals with so much social issues in such a funny yet heartwarming way. yes there are many plot holes. like not knowing what is outside of pleasantville when they play basketball games and win.( who do they play against.) or how is david going to explain his sister's disappearance, without it looking like he killed her. yet it is still my favorite movie.

25 years since I saw this at the cinema, this story hasn't grown old. It is so relevant for so much of what is going on today. Human nature loves to stick in black & white certainties.

Pleasantville is a minor gem of a movie - pretty damn hit-you-over-the-head with its moralizing (coloreds and book burnings and all)....but a helluva fun ride! Our characters get actual arcs and end up fundamentally changed and the performances are pretty great all around.

When it was first released, this movie has more individual visual special effects than any other movie.

Lillie and Herman Munster on The Munsters was the very first couple in television history to both sleep in one bed! The best part of this film is the script. You are right. Each person gets something out of it about change. And what everybody’s changes are, is different from person to person. The most amazing line in film history is the very end… “What do we do now?” “I don’t know.” That’s exactly like life! We don’t know what we are doing from moment to moment and how our actions can produce changes in yourself and in others that you interact with. What will happen with those life choices or happenstances? “I don’t know!”

7:48 "Father-Daughter Dance"? Aawww, how wholesome!

The TV repairman was Don Knotts. He was a famous actor/comedian who died in 2006. He starred as the Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife in the Andy Griffith Show. Loved your reaction. I thought you’d like it a lot!

I think the TV repairman was sent there to teach a life lesson. He knew what he was doing.. wink. And the poor clueless dad still make me laugh "where's my dinner".. where's my dinner? Where's my dinner!? 😂🤦

Don Knotts…my childhood. Comedic icon. Ghost of Mr. Chicken, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Andy Griffith Show, so many more!

This is one of my favourite films. I love how the actress playing Betty has such dark brown hair and pale grey-green eyes that when she wears grey makeup you almost (but not quite) can't see that her hair and eyes are still in colour. Also, the clasped hands of the Chamber of Commerce logo look ominously similar to the INGSOC party banner in the 1984 movie of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

I feel like our CoC chairman's 'enlightenment' wasn't necessarily caused by his anger, per se, but possibly by the awakening to the fact that he wasn't in control of everything. It was getting angry that showed him he wasn't even in control of himself.

I really like this movie. For me it works on several levels. You're right in that it is kind of like a fable, and in that way it works like a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode, both of which date back to the era Pleasantville represents. Another thing it does is to counter 90s despair by reminding us the 50s weren't exactly what we might like to think and also reminding us of how far we've come. The Colored people sitting in the balcony section at the town meeting was a nice reminder that there were times and places in this country's history when even movie theater seating was racially segregated; black people had to sit up in the balcony.

I've always felt that this film was underrated. When I mention it, I'm met with blank stares and wonder if I'm the only one who ever saw it. It works so effortlessly on so many levels. Thanks for watching this & giving it some public attention. I hope it inspires more people to discover this little gem of a movie. Great premise. Ideal cast. Yeah, I think the way the movie affected you would make the producers proud that they succeeded in what they set out to do. Thanks for watching - and sharing - this unique little film.

Ooh nice to see a reaction to this underrated gem as people have said. Am I alone in thinking the writers of WandaVision took inspiration from this movie? It’s on my Amazon watch list now and look forward to watching it again

Really great film choice, so happy to see your reaction to it. It's a wonderful feature, both in technical terms and the themes it deals with, without even getting started on the performances. "Fable-like" is a great way to describe it.

I gave this movie a wide berth when it first came out, because the way it was marketed made it seem like a fairly generic comedy film with a fantasy premise. I was so amazed at the depth of the film when I finally saw it on TV.

The film beautifully weaves lots of allegory into different facets of the story, but at its core its about the beauty of the duality of life. Life that has been rid of all unpleasantness will also be devoid of passion and pleasure....because those things become meaningless without their opposites. Pleasantville was always pleasant, but at the cost of never experiencing any excitement, joy, or real love. The kids opened the door to those things...and there was no going back after that. Beautifully told and artfully done. A favorite of mine It saddens me when ppl try to peg this film as being an allegory for one particular thing (usually the one nearest their own experiences), when the truth is that its about ALL of those things. Its about beauty and the beast being different sides of the same coin. Its about the joy of life weighed against its sorrows. Someone i once knew summed it up perfectly: you can't touch the sky if the ground stays with you

Oh, I also think of the wisdom of Master Kahn who said to young Caine," The soul does not keep time; it merely registers growth."

Thanks for reacting to this one. It's one of my favorites, and most people don't seem to know it exists, much less react to it.

This has been one of my favorite films since I saw it when it came out. As someone interested in American history, the metaphors here are pretty clear. Concept of change being presented through the lens of photography and American media transitioning from black-and-white to color, as well as the story of America between 1950 and 1970, in a simplified manner. According to the DVD special features, the scene where Joanne Allen is in color and they have to paint her black and white was actually very challenging technically. I have also felt for years that Randy Newman’s score to this film is among the most underrated scores in film history.

Great choice! This is such a fun movie! I’m glad to see reaction channels do films that haven’t already been done by a hundred other reaction channels. Popcorn in Bed recently reacted to Blast from the Past, which is another more obscure favorite.

"Honey! I'm home." Fun Fact: Theatrical movie debut of Maggie Lawson and Andrea Baker. Emotional Indian Fact: The Indian in the test pattern behind Don Knotts changes from having no expression to angry and then sad as the movie progresses. Historical Fact: The art book that Bud (Tobey Maguire) gives Bill (Jeff Daniels) does not have a death year for Pablo Picasso because he did not die till 1973 and the Pleasantville universe takes place in 1958. Black And White Fact: Since every scene from the middle of the movie onwards had to be in some way digitally changed to have black and white characters interact with characters who are in color, technically this film had the most digital effects shots until Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). Make-Up Effects Fact: For the sequence where Bud (Tobey Maguire) is applying the gray make-up to his mother (Joan Allen), the color of the make-up was actually green. When they had to "black-and-white" the scene, the green tones were utilized in the same way a green screen is, except it created a mask for applying desaturation rather than replacing the area with an image. Conversely, when Betty first visits the soda shop, she is in full gray make-up, which means that Joan Allen was shot wearing full green make-up, which is subsequently removed by Bill Johnson (Jeff Daniels).

Glad you did this movie - its often way too overlooked

a very underrated and highly overlooked movie.

You articulated your interpretation of the film so well. I loved this film growing up, and as someone who was raised in a very religious environment, the themes of repression, puritanism, prejudice, judgment, and enlightenment really resonated with me. Rewatching it with you now, it does strike me as odd to have racism commentary in a film with an all-white cast, and I think it would have been interesting to include people of color in the town. It may have detracted from the sitcom accuracy of the era, but I'm curious as to how people of color would have reacted to the color contagion.

I'm glad this movie resonated with you. It's odd that no one else ever reacts to this, but maybe you'll start a trend. (As an aside, one thing that I'll always remember about this movie is that the first trailer that was released for it--the one that used the music from "The Incredible Journey"--spoiled the entire plot. Like, I know this happens quite often with trailers, but this one took the cake. I've never seen a trailer that so effectively laid out the entire trajectory of the movie so clearly.)

Written and Directed by Gary Ross, who co-wrote BIG with Tom Hanks and THE HUNGER GAMES!

I remember watching this when it came out in grade 8 and loving it.

This is one of my all-time fave movies, I especially cry at the end where David is cheering up his mother when she's crying in the kitchen. It makes me think of my own mother and thoughts she may have been struggling with in her life and the message "there is no right house, there is no right car" just really hits home for me.

A beautiful movie, one of my favorites. I shed a tear or two just watching these clips.

Love this movie and really enjoyed your closing comments and can relate to thinking and expressing your thoughts out of the norm. Thank you.

Love this movie. One thing I think they should have done is in the scenes of the fully colonized Pleasantville they should have had actual people of color showing up.

A wonderful film with some powerful scenes made even more emotional by the beautiful soundtrack. It's on my shortlist of eminently rewatchable films, up there with Groundhog Day (appropriately enough), The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Having watched more Interstellar reaction videos than the actual film, I'd add that to this list too, as contrary to the norm for science fiction, the emotional elements always take the reactor by surprise. Bicentennial Man, AI, Somewhere in Time and It's a Wonderful Life are more examples of films that press all the right emotional buttons. I'm surprised there aren't more Pleasantville reaction videos - perhaps the other channels will jump on the bandwagon when this gets some views, although I do wonder if the patreons suggesting the films are the same people on every channel.

Such an underrated Masterpiece The Legally Blonde line was GOLD lol :)

Love this movie, and I think it got underappreciated upon release for being a bit too "on the nose" or perhaps seen as too lighthearted?, but the clarity and interconnectedness of it, combined with its fluidity and ability to become an allegory for all sorts of civil rights, inequality, personal growth etc. stories means it just continues to age so well and it somehow seems to find more and more to say as time goes on.

I ask for very little in life and today I got what I wanted: someone to react to Pleasantville. I noticed there are 3 others who do reactions to this film but I waited for someone who I subscribed to and you are the first. Your reaction was thrilling but your review was very hard hitting. WOW! Aren't practical effects BRILLIANT !!! I know where your coming from. The film takes place around the time I was 2 and sitcoms like "Leave It To Beaver," "Father Knows Best, " and "The Andy Griffith Show" were big. When I first saw the film in the theater I bawled my eyes out. Imagine, a movie critic crying. I don't think its possible. I wrote the review, sent it to the paper and then proceeded to take my elder sister to it and the nostalgia was so much for her she cried, she loved it, and pointed a lot of things with phrases like "We had that in our kitchen," "That was the exact suitcase Mom and Dad had." I paid the way for 6 friends to take them to see this movie 6 different times and their reactions were from jaw dropping to "That was a beautiful film. I'm recommending it to my parents." My parents liked it so much I had to buy a DVD copy and a CD soundtrack album. Thank you, Chris. You made my day. I only wish there was a way we could communicate beside on here.

You are not wrong that there are issues with a commentary on racism in a world that only includes white people (whether they live in black and white or color); I imagine they might try to paint outside of those lines somehow if this movie were made now. It is a very interesting movie, though. A long time since I watched it.

Prayers for you as you go through these things in your personal life. I'm sorry for the negative experiences you have had.

Such an underrated film.

Finally!! I’ve only seen one other reaction to this movie ❤

I love Don Knotts.

this is one of my favorite movies. its so well done. its so deep while still being fun. i absolutely love it. im glad you enjoyed it.

I knew you would love this, and it was great to see!

This film always brings new revelations with each viewing. A wonderful film.

Omg I loved this movie so much I’ve seen it so many times, excellent reaction!

Yay I'm always looking for people to react to this movie! I love it so much!

Loved seeing this movie on your channel ❤ May I suggest another gem: "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"?

All the names is why I stopped reading the books. I read the first two and then put them down for a while. When I finally started reading the third all these characters came back into the story and I had lost track of who they were. I was entering college at that point and had other priorities, lol. Years later after the movies came out, I read them aloud with my daughter, talking turns with her.

Such an underrated movie. Glad you reacted to it and your thoughtful commentary.

I grew up watching this movie 💜💜💜💜 one of my tops

If you like Contact, definitely check out The Frightners. There’s also this time loop movie called ARQ. Oh, and Mission to Mars; it’s one of my favorite Tim Robbins films.

Finally, someone reacts to this!

I forgot how good this was when I watched it in the theater. Thanks for choosing it to react too.

Lela Ivey, who played the teacher, is one of my favorite actresses. She doesn't have a lot of film work, but she was wonderful on _The Edge of Night._

8:12 The Hays code never had two characters sleeping together as it would be implied as a sexual innuendo.

This is my all time third-favorite movie. To me it is a perfect movie. I love this movie so much. I’ve watched it many times and I’m going to watch it many more times.

Yes! I love this movie!

I love this movie. It was so carefully cast, just wonderful.

I first saw this on a flight from the UK to Turkey. It's not a good look bawling your eyes out on a plane 😭😅 Great reaction as usual!

We studied this film for English, it was great.

Haven't read all the comments but haven't seen anyone mention Paul Walker's role in this movie. Definitely on of his underrated films.

Saw this one in highschool and I keep coming out with new thoughts.

I was reminded of “The Truman Show”,what with the concept of real people trapped in a television show setting.

You should watch Thank You For Smoking! Under appreciated smart gem of the 2000s.

YAY!!! I adore this movie!

Finally someone reacts to this gem!! crazy watch with everything going on in the world these days!

Such a wonderful movie!

Your comment on c9,ours reminds me of this one woman I once read about; women already on average see more colour variation than men, it there is this one woman who see far beyond the normal range for women. She sees colours we do not even have names for.

Mr. Furley! ❤️