mpbuchwald Filmed on location in a drab real world setting instead of on an artistically designed backlot, this production, like many a remake, suffers by comparison to the original hit show and other better remakes, such as the Little Rascals or Dennis the Menace. The narrow focus of the dull witted producers seems to have been on production design and the issue of how to tastefully update from the golden age 50's to the 90's. In so thinking, they have put style above substance and altogether fallen short of the achievement of the original. The mise en scene moves from the idealized small town suburb of Hollywoodland to the gloomier landscape of an authentic 90's exurb, with the occasional camp fast food sign and ugly parking lot thrown in for ironic documentary effect. This is meant to make the audience believe the remake is more realistic, yet it drains the beloved TV favorite of iconic appeal. The bland characterization and lackluster acting suffer from a similar shortcoming--a missing sense of drama or a lack of imaginative expressiveness, all in the service of verisimilitude. There's unfortunately also "studied anachronism." 50's cars are randomly thrown onto the set together with more modern makes, a fumblingly inappropriate attempt to capture nostalgic 50's feeling. Probably the lead headed film makers thought they were being clever but it fell flat like the rest of the movie. A good remake may still be made. Until then, watch the reruns.

Syl This film would have been complete if cameos were made by Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow who reluctantly declined to appear in this television show to film adaptation. It's not a bad film. The actor who plays Beaver is quite cute and funny at times. His parents are played well by Janine Turner and Christopher McDonald. Wally is played okay by Erik Von Detten. The story is about a small kid nicknamed the Beaver who manages to get into trouble with all sorts. It's funny to see him on the football team where he's so much smaller than his teammates. Also, the gags are quite silly and physical but nothing too much. Beaver always manages to get into some sort of trouble when he's not trying too. Barbara Billingsley who played June Cleaver in the series makes a cameo as Aunt Martha. It's not a bad film for kids and even adults to lighten the mood.

ccthemovieman-1 As someone who grew up watching "Leave It To Beaver" on television, and now on DVD, this "upgraded" movie version is disgusting.Out-of-touch movie critics like Porter & Martin, who have a best-selling paperback book each year of short movie reviews of anything on tape or disc, called this "wholesome" fun. In fact, they said it was so wholesome kids of today might not want to see it, meaning it was too goody-goody for them. This shows you how out-of-touch film critics can be because compared to that 1950s show, this is HARDLY a wholesome movie.In this LITB, the young guys are all after girls and sex, use the word "suck" all the time and the story is filled with 1990s-type Hollywood portrayals and comments (Beaver was excited because he saw an R-rated movie, etc.)Overall, it's still a kid's movie and Cameron Finley is "cute" as Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver and his parents are nice, but there are too may moral problems with this version. Stick to the TV shows, especially now that the first two seasons on DVD. Those are fantastic.

emguy This is a rather unfocused movie that actually has less depth than the sitcom it's based on. For the kid who played the Beav, it seemed like they wanted all the cuteness and none of the character. The story kept throwing random bits and pieces around, mostly cliches, without tying them together except in the most superficial ways. Scenes that should have been comedic were played by the numbers. The performances were all stiff and lifeless, with the possible exception of the Beaver. There wasn't a trace of chemistry in the entire movie. Ward was presented in a very disjointed manner. June was completely irrelevant, as if the shallow well of the writers' ideas had run dry by the time they got to her. Eddie seemed all wrong. He should have been a Harry Flashman-like character, but in some scenes he came across as either a shy, nervous kid, or even as one of the Good Guys. The "villains" of the movie were only intermittently relevant to the story, and some of that seemed overly artificial and manufactured.All in all, a dull, lifeless movie.