Leave It to Beaver

Seems amazing what trouble a little kid can get himself into at times. Quite an interesting watch - the plot revolves around the kid Beaver and the problems he has trying to do the things that will get his father to approve of him and like him more, and his older brother's attempts to woo a girl who likes another. Somehow, these people all manage to entangle themselves into one another's lives and makes for some pretty predictable sequences and scenes. But I like shows with kids as stars, and this is one of the better ones to come from the studios.

The movie focuses on the misadventures that befall Theodore "Beaver/Beav" Cleaver(Cameron Finley) and his relation to his older brother Wally (Erik von Detten), father Ward (Christopher McDonald), and mother June (Janine Turner).

1997's Leave it to Beaver is one of many TV to film adaptations the decade saw. Some adaptations such as The Addams Family, The Fugitive, Maverick, or Mission: Impossible were solid films that adapted the shows while justifying themselves as films in their own right, but others such as Car 54 Where are You?, The Beverly Hillbillies, McHale's Navy, or The Flintstones were either tired retreads content to spin their wheels or missed the mark on their series. Leave it to Beaver adapts the 1957 to 1963 television series of the same name that did have some notable milestones in TV (such as the first scene featuring a toilet in the second episode) but it portrayed a very idealized vision of the 1950s middle class that really only existed for a small subset of Americans at the time. While Leave it to Beaver has had staying power with syndication, a reunion movie, and a sequel series in the 80s, it's honestly a show that never spoke to me because it never resonated with me especially in its rather naïve in hindsight view that children's only real source of tension comes from when they misbehave or engage in mischief with the family life shown as unrealistically idealized. The show Leave it to Beaver really can't be critiqued from a modern viewpoint because it's so ingrained in that era of Father Knows Best or My Three Sons and I always gravitated towards either the more gimmicky sitcoms like I Dream of Jeanie, Bewitched or Get Smart, or the outliers like The Honeymooners that broke from the mold established by shows like Leave it to Beaver. A adaptation of Leave it to Beaver just wouldn't have worked in the 90s unless of course you reframed it in a manner similar to The Brady Bunch movies did, and of course they don't.

Leave it to Beaver 1997 sets its tone from the outset with a lot of the same cartoonish "mess" and slapstick humor that defined most post Home Alone family films of the 1990s and with Brian Levant of The Flintstones adaptation writing the script, it falls pretty much in line with the quality seen in The Flintstones with its flabby directionless narrative that feels like several condensed episodes of the TV series stapled end to end. Outside of maybe modernizing the familial dynamic to contemporary times there's not really all that much you can do with Leave it to Beaver that wasn't already being done by the numerous Home Alone inspired clones of the day. I will say that the actors are all perfectly fine with Christopher McDonald having some "okay" moments here and there when the script and direction aren't forcing him to mug, but the rest of the movie is so aggressively bouncy in its tone that it becomes pretty aggravating. There's also a bit involving Adam Zolotin as Eddie Haskell, Jr. Where he shows his stalkerish behavior over a girl he likes that the movie seems blissfully unaware of how creepy it is.

Leave it to Beaver is another bad 90s film adaptation of an old TV show. It's not particularly funny or charming with the only real laugh coming from the fact Universal signed the cast for two sequels that never ended up happening. Some of the actors try to rise above the hackneyed shenanigans and bounciness of the movie, but it's just not enough to save this banal and obnoxious film.

I have read a bunch of these other reviews, in which many people seem to strongly dislike the 1997 movie "Leave it to Beaver." Well, I have one question for them: Do you even watch the show?! The 1997 movie combines countless themes and storylines from various episodes of the original series, a technique that is enjoyable and funny. The actors are great, and it is wonderful to see some of the original show's cast making cameos in the film (such as the actors who originally played June Cleaver, Eddie Haskell, and Lumpy). The movie gives a fresh twist to a classic television series, and effectively bridges the gap between generations. This film is enjoyable for younger children and teens who may not have seen the original series, as well as being exciting for parents or other adults who know and love the Cleaver clan from way back in the 50s. This film is a true winner, despite pointless criticisms that it may have received.

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.

Big screen treatment of the classic '50's comedy series. It's got size and color and a score and stunts, but little of the charm or innocence or sincerity of the original which is what made it great. The script is distractingly episodic. Over all it is slick enough to hold the attention of a child, but fans of the tv show should stay far away.