Pleasantville Pics

David (Tobey Maguire) and his sister Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon) are siblings leading dramatically different high school social lives. Jennifer is shallow and extroverted, while David is introverted and spends most of his time watching television. One evening while their mother (Jane Kaczmarek) is away from home, David and Jennifer fight over use of the TV; Jennifer wants to watch a concert, while David wants to watch a marathon of Pleasantville, a black and white 1958 sitcom about the idyllic Parker family. During their fight, the remote control breaks and the TV cannot be turned on manually.

A mysterious TV repairman (Don Knotts) shows up, quizzes David about Pleasantville, then gives him a strange-looking remote control. The repairman leaves, and David and Jennifer promptly resume fighting. However, they are somehow transported into the Parkers' black and white Pleasantville living room. David tries to reason with the repairman (with whom he communicates through the Parkers' television set) but succeeds only in chasing him away. David and Jennifer must now pretend they are Bud and Mary Sue Parker, the son and daughter on the show.

David and Jennifer witness the wholesome nature of the town, such as a group of firemen rescuing a cat out of a tree. David tells Jennifer that they must stay "in character" and not disrupt the lives of the town's citizens, who do not notice any difference between "Bud and Mary Sue" and "David and Jennifer." In order to keep the show's plot in line, Jennifer agrees to go on a date with a boy from high school, but she has sex with him, a concept entirely unknown to him and everyone else in the town.

Slowly, things in Pleasantville begin changing from black and white to color, including flowers and the faces of people who have experienced bursts of emotion. David becomes friends with Mr. Johnson (Jeff Daniels), owner of the local soda fountain, and introduces him to colorful modern art via a book from the library, sparking in him an interest in painting. Johnson and Betty Parker fall in love, causing her to leave home, throwing George Parker (William H. Macy), Bud and Mary Sue's father, into complete confusion. The only people who remain unchanged are the town fathers, led by the Mayor, Big Bob (J.T Walsh), who sees the changes eating away at the values of Pleasantville. They resolve to do something about their increasingly independent wives and rebellious children.

As the townsfolk slowly become more colorful, a ban on "colored" people is initiated in some public venues. Eventually a riot is touched off by a nude painting of Betty on the window of Mr. Johnson’s soda fountain. The soda fountain is destroyed, books are burned, and people who are "colored" are harassed in the street. As a reaction, the town fathers announce a list of rules preventing people from visiting the library, playing loud music, or using paint colors other than black, white, or gray. In protest, David and Mr. Johnson paint a colorful mural on a brick wall, depicting things relevant to their world, but are arrested. Brought to trial in front of the entire town, David and Mr. Johnson defend their actions, eventually arousing enough anger and indignation in Big Bob that the Mayor himself becomes colored as well.

Having seen Pleasantville changed irrevocably, Jennifer chooses to stay behind in the alternate world for a while to finish her education, but David uses the remote control to return to the real world.

Pleasantville is a 1998 American fantasy comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Gary Ross. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, and Jeff Daniels. J. T. Walsh, Don Knotts, Paul Walker, and Jane Kaczmarek appear in supporting roles. The film was released in the United States by New Line Cinema through Warner Bros. on October 23, 1998.