6 - Leave It To Beaver

Connection To THE RICH MAN'S WIFE - Shooter McGavin Christopher McDonald.

I remember watching Leave It To Beaver on the original Comedy Channel in the UK in the early 90's, it left such an impression on me that I don't really remember it besides the name - and enough of an impact then that in Scrooged - the Father Loves Beaver bit, I thought was just a reference to this and this alone, my kiddie mind didn't make the other connection.

So maybe choosing a movie version of a sit-com I barely remember might not the same memories for me if I watched the movies based on The Addams Family or The Brady Bunch for example, they where shows I remember very well (and love the films too boot).

The first question I have to ask myself about this film is what decade is this movie set? This is of course a rhetorical question with it's references to Brad Pitt and Gameboy it's obviously set in the decade it was made - the 90's, but the characters all act like, well... a sit-com from the 1950's.

I'm not sure that's where the problem lies, but it feels like say the opposite to The Brady Bunch movies, it doesn't want to make fun (even in a loving way) of the original show and it's conventions and seems more like a 50's sit-com script updated to the 90's with a few minor changes.

The jokes mostly miss the spot, really because they are so gentle - you wouldn't even say they are unfunny, I think they just aspire to be safe and soft. I thought most of the child actors where pretty poor - not quite as bad as most of the kids from the 94 Little Rascals movie but there just on the weak side, I hate having a go at kids performances but just it's noticeable when a cast is top-heavy with younger performers

Overall, the film just falls flat, mainly because other TV updates have just done it better. Maybe if I loved the original show I might have viewed differently - to be honest though I don't really think that would be the case