Still the Beaver

This movie was heartwarming and funny when appropriate. I used to tune in to the original show on the Antenna channel. It came on twice, at 8 and 8:30am. I would watch it while I got ready for work. Now I've changed jobs. I don't get up until 8:50, so I no longer watch it, but I enjoyed it when I did. Looking at old TV shows from the perspective of someone in their 20s, I find many of them to be formulaic and boring. However, this is one of the few vintage TV shows that doesn't annoy me. Still the Beaver is like the all grownup version of the show. Ward has passed (he actually wasn't alive when this film was made), and June is living alone. Wally is a successful lawyer. He and his wife, his high school sweetheart, are trying to have a baby. Beaver is divorced with two sons, and he moves back to his childhood home to live with his mom. Eddie owns a construction company. Beaver wants custody of his kids. Later in the film his ex-wife tells him she's going to veterinary school in another country, so he gets to have the kids full time. I thought the movie was great when I was watching, but thinking about it now, it seems kind of silly. I say that because all of the characters have the same personality as they did in the show, which is why I took off 1 star. Wally is still a jock, and Eddie is still a shyster. It's hard to believe Beaver is a father, let alone married in the first place. He has no life skills. He doesn't have a job or a car. Never mind - I think he has a car at the beginning of the movie, but after moving back home, he buys a 1965 Mustang, which didn't really make sense. It's never stated outright why his wife wanted a divorce, but it's not hard to figure out the reason. He doesn't carry himself like an adult. He's awkward and has low self-esteem, which is really no different than how he was as a kid - hence the title. She did point out they got married too young, and that increases the likelihood of divorce. It would've been nice to see more character development. Overall, this was a lovely film. It might make some people cry, especially if they were kids when this show first started coming on TV and/or one of their parents is deceased. It's sad how my generation has gotten plagued by overly negative movies and TV shows. Still the Beaver focuses on real life problems without sounding preachy. The audience walks away having learned valuable lessons that are still relevant in modern times. I feel like the topic of divorce was addressed exceptionally well, unlike Mrs. Doubtfire, which contained a lot of sexual jokes and bathroom humor. If you loved the show, then you will thoroughly enjoy this movie.

This was simply awful. Jerry Mathers is a chumpy twit as the "grown" Beaver who still wears his goofy baseball cap and windbreaker coat despite being well into his 30's. He trudges home glumly to his mommy after losing his job and wife, and the cute Beaver we all remember is brought back to life. He hasn't changed a bit--all the dopey mannerisms are still in effect, and big brother Wally still has the upper hand in intelligence, strength, and female magnetism. Director Steven Stern seems to have forgotten that in the final seasons of the old Leave it to Beaver series, Beaver had grown up quite a bit and was well past the bumbling twirp we recall from the early days. I was looking forward to seeing the adult Beaver in some adult situations with some casual references to the past. Instead, the producers try to cash-in by heaping on the corny treacle with all the characters being much older yet none wiser.

Sorry, I don't agree that this one was a dud. The Beaver never grew up -why should we have expected him to? He was a whiny kid who grew up to be a whiny, clueless adult. I loved the first scene when his wife turns the sprinklers on him and later, when June is sitting in the graveyard saying "Ward, I'm worried about the Beaver." Meeting Eddie Haskell's kid, who is his father all over again, of course, was also great fun.

Leave it to Beaver was never fine theater or great writing,it was just a look at the way America never really was.

You can't reproduce the charm of the original 1950s/1960s series, Leave it To Beaver, but why would you want to? It was a product of its times, and Still The Beaver is just as well. With the exception of the late Ward Cleaver, the entire cast is there, and except for Whitey, are portrayed by their original actors.

Theodore Cleaver is an adult version of his child self... and it's led his wife to divorce him. Beaver wants to be a good father to his two sons, but he can't channel the stern but warm guidance that his father provided. After advice from his brother, Wally, now a lawyer married to this high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen, he decides that he wants custody.

Everyone in the cast is there, and most of them are adult reflections of their childhood selves... except a surprising comedic twist with Beaver's friend Larry, which I shall not spoil here. June Cleaver continues to provide the family the nurturing warmth required to keep them going. It's a reunion updated for the theme of the new era, covering topics as divorce, relationships, dealing with children with behavioral issues, and more. Plus, it's nice to see what has changed in the Cleaver residence, and in their lives, and what hasn't.

Still The Beaver is not expected to be able to compete with its own series, now with classic status. It's also not expected to be an award-winning piece of filmmaking with deep symbolism and subtle character traits. But as a new installment of a beloved series, seeing Beaver still struggling with confidence issues decades later, the movie should find a heartwarming sweet spot in the audience's heart. And seeing Eddie Haskell, character unchanged, is worth the time to watch!

I grew up with LITB in the 60s, and I always thought it was a great show. I never thought it was supposed to represent some kind of typical American family. In fact, the characters themselves said this more than once; e.g. "A lotta the guys say they wish their Moms and Dads were more like you guys", or something like it.

Anyway, this movie was a very sincere and heartfelt effort, even if it wasn't very funny. All the actors tried hard, and nobody mugged, etc. In fact, they were surprisingly restrained. I was truly moved by the flashback to Ward's funeral, shot from a distance, with Beaver's voice from an early episode praising his dad. I still get choked up just thinking about it!