Leave It to Beaver (1997)

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.

Throughout watching practically this entire movie, I had a stupid grin on my face. That's the kind of film this is. It's cheesy, sentimental, substandard, and predictable. . . . and I enjoyed it.Before watching it, I had never seen an episode of the classic sitcom ''Leave it to Beaver'', from which this movie is based, but I was acquainted enough with the material to expect some Dennis the Menace type antics. And that's what I got. It's hard to figure out if the movie is winking at us; it just seems so cheerfully absurd!It basically follows the story of Beaver, a trouble-prone young boy, and his adventures and misadventures. The film's setting is in a suburban neighbourhood stuck somewhere between 1950 and 1990.Although I was really entertained, this movie's definitely not very good.But if you want a heartwarming and gentle film that's very ridiculous, you might want to check this one out.

After hearing that Erik Von Detten was in this movie when he was younger... I was very curious to see it. Once the movie started, I could tell it was sort of a satire... which is totally cool and fun to watch. Beaver is a very charming character and Wally would be the perfect child if he acted the same in today's society. This movie had my attention the whole way through. It was totally cute, and had a lot of references that little kids may not "get" ... Erika Christiansen is in this movie too and she looked way different back then. I think they did a good job in this movie trying to portray the way children think and act and perceive the world. Although the mother is portrayed a bit like a Stepford Wife, it isn't that big of a distraction. You really begin to feel for the characters in this movie even though there hasn't been a whole lot of character development.

Enjoyable little family flic with a much cuter Mrs Cleaver than the old TV show. Ward was quite a bit more uptight than the old Mr. C. Eddie. You gotta love this guy anytime; what a conniving, nosy little suck-up. This film was updated to the point of losing most of the flavor of the original program. Gee, I just liked the old one best.