Leave it to beaver movie11/9/2022 ![]() ![]() But Ken Osmond, the original Eddie Haskell, has a very funny cameo as Eddie’s equally sleazy father. Barbara Billingsley, the original June Cleaver of the TV series, has little to do in a walk-on as Beaver’s stern aunt. The lead players are well chosen and reasonably proficient, but only McDonald, effectively cast against type, and Zolotin, who amusingly looks and sounds like a pint-size Rat Packer, are standouts. Maybe they should have stepped aside to let David Lynch or John Waters take a crack at the material. ![]() Cadiff, Levant and Diamond may simply be too much in love with the original “Leave It to Beaver” to attempt anything more cutting than an occasional dab of spoofiness. Unlike the makers of the tongue-in-cheek “Brady Bunch” movies, the people who concocted this TV-inspired feature fail to establish a consistent tone. Unfortunately, these mildly subversive touches are separated by long stretches of unremarkable tedium. During a group visit to a school psychiatrist, the pic’s most inspired sequence, Wally blurts out that he constantly worries about living up to his parents’ expectations. Later on, when he’s turned on by the sight of June doing housework in pearls and a fashionable dress, Ward sounds very much like Gomez of “The Addams Family” did whenever Morticia spoke French in his presence.Īt other points, director Andy Cadiff (a veteran of TV’s “Home Improvement”) hints at an eagerness to reveal the dark side of the all-American family. When Ward blows his top after Beaver loses his bike, he reveals flashes of a pent-up fury that are borderline psychotic. The filmmakers leave the door wide open for sequels, though they need not have bothered.ĭuring the first half of “Leave It to Beaver,” there are fleeting indications that the filmmakers may originally have considered a more satirical approach. After what seems like a very long time, everything turns out happily for just about everyone involved. But the classmate, Karen (Erika Christensen), is more taken with Wally, and, not surprisingly, this causes friction between the friends. Meanwhile, Wally tries to help his best buddy, the singularly sleazy Eddie Haskell (Adam Zolotin), who needs all the help he can get while wooing a pretty classmate. The worse news is, Beaver does indeed get the bike - but it is promptly stolen. The bad news is, Beaver makes the team, meaning he is pounded during practice and embarrassed during games. In the hope of getting a new bike, Beaver attempts to curry his sports-loving father’s favor by trying out for his school’s football team. To reintroduce these pop-culture icons, writers Brian Levant (who directed “The New Leave It to Beaver” series) and Lon Diamond have cobbled together a tissue-thin plot. ![]() And Theodore (Cameron Finley), known as the Beaver, is a normally precocious 8-year-old boy who sometimes feels like the odd man out in this “perfect” family. Wally (Erik von Detten), their model teenage son, is just beginning to seriously notice girls. Ward (Christopher McDonald) is the wise, albeit demanding, father. Beaver goes home happy, ready to get into more trouble.Like the 1957-63 TV series - which enjoyed a long afterlife in reruns, and spawned a made-for-cable “New Leave It to Beaver” (1985-89) - pic focuses on the all-American Cleaver family in suburban Mayfield, Ohio. His father goes to save him and the two finally speak frankly to each other for the first time. Beaver wants to live up to his father's expectations and one evening he remains locked inside a large cup that is used as an advertising sign for a bar. He does not find comfort in Wally who, along with his friend Eddie, is busy trying to conquer the heart of a girl in their class. Beaver does not have the courage to confess the loss of the bicycle, but when it is discovered, his father's reproaches hurt him even more. Beaver rides cheerful through the streets, but when a friend of his brother's asks him to try it to do some tricks, Beaver gives it to him and the guy leaves and does not return. Clumsily he tells his parents and finally the bike arrives. Beaver dreams of having a bicycle for himself and being able to get to school the same way as his friends. And then there is the younger one, Theodore, nicknamed Beaver, who the more tries to keep out of trouble the deeper he falls in. Father Ward is all absorbed in his work, mother June looks after the house, the eldest son Wally is a bright athletic teenager. Plot – In Mayfield, Ohio, the Cleaver family seems to live in perfect harmony. ![]()
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